UC-NRLF 


SB    273    72fl 


'         DAVID  STARR  JORDAN 


LIBRARY 

OF  THK 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT    OF 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


— THF  — 

I     11  l_j 

STORY   OF    MATKA 


Calr  of  tlic  iflist  Sslan&g 


DAVID  STARR  JORDAN 

President  of  I.eland  Stanford  Jr.  University,  and  cf  the  California 

Academy  of  Science;   United  Sta'es  Commissioner  in 

Charge  of  Fur  Seal  Investigations. 


SAN  FRANCISCO 

WHITAKER  &  RAY-WIGGIN    CO. 
1910 


f 


t- 

inA 


COPYRIGHT  1897 

BY 

DAVID  STARR  JORDAN. 


COPYRIGHT  1909 

BY 

DAVID   STARR   JORDAN. 


To  MY  ASSOCIATES 

OF     THE 

BERING   SEA   COMMISSIONS    FOR   1896 

WITH  PLEASANT  MEMORIES  OF  THE 

TWIN    MlST-ISLANDS   AND 

THE  ICY  SEA, 


D'ARCY  WENTWORTH  THOMPSON. 

LEONHARD  STEJNEGER. 
FREDERIC  AUGUSTUS  LUCAS. 

JAMES  MELVILLE  MACOUN. 

GEORGE  ARCHIBALD  CLARK, 

JEFFERSON  FRANKLIN  MOSER. 

GERALD  EDWIN  H.  BARRETT-HAMILTON, 

CHARLES  HASKINS  TOWNSEND, 

JOSEPH  MURRAY, 

ANDREW  HALKETT. 

AND  TO  OUR  PREDECESSORS 

HENRY  WOOD   ELLIOTT, 

CLINTON  HART  MERRIAM, 

BARTON  WARREN  EVERMANN 

FREDERICK  WILLIAM  TRUE. 

THOMAS  CORWIN   MENDENHALL. 


199433 


PREFACE. 

In  the  illustration  of  this  little  book,  I  am  indebted 
to  Assistant  Secretary  Charles  S.  Hamlin,  of  the  United 
States  Treasury,  and  to  Hon.  John  J.  Brice,  United 
States  Fish  Commissioner,  for  the  use  of  photographs 
taken,  for  the  various  Bering  Sea  Commissions,  by 
Mr.  Charles  H.  Townsend,  Dr.  Barton  W.  Evermann, 
Dr.  Leonhard  Stejneger,  and  Mr.  N.  B.  Miller.  For 
certain  photographs  taken  by  Mr.  Harry  Chichester,  I 
am  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Joseph  Stanley- 
Brown.  The  drawings  showing  the  life  of  the  beach- 
masters  were  made  by  Miss  Chloe  Lesley  (now  Mrs. 
Edwin  Chapin  Starks),  then  a  student  in  Stanford  Uni 
versity.  By  the  courtesy  of  Prof.  D'Arcy  W.  Thompson 
and  Mr.  James  M.  Macoun,  I  have  used  certain  photo 
graphs  taken  by  the  Commissioners  of  Great  Britain  and 
of  Canada.  To  the  author  of  "The  Beaches  of  Lukan- 
non,"  I  gratefully  make  any  acknowledgement  the  reader 
may  deem  proper. 

DAVID    STARR   JORDAN 


FOREWORD   TO   THE   PRESENT  EDITION. 

The  plates  of  the  earlier  editions  of  this  work  were  des 
troyed  in  the  fire  which  followed  the  earthquake  of  1906 
In  this  edition  a  few  additions  are  made,  some  plates  omit 
ted,  and  others  added  through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Harry 
Chichester  and  Mr.  George  A.  Clark. 

Palo    Alto,    California,  D'    S>    J< 

October    12,    1909. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PHOTOGRAPHS 

Matka, Frontispiece 

(Charles  H.   Townscnd,  from  Reef  Rookery.) 

"Atagh  groaned  and  shook  his  head,"     ...     16 
(Dr.  Harry  N.  Chichcstcr.) 

"Let   us   stay   with   Atagh," 20 

(Dr.  Harry  N.  Chichcstcr,  Zoltoi  Bluffs.) 

"Polsi  watched  them  from  the  rock,"     ....     25 
"Polsi    began    to    laugh," 30 

"Old   Amogada,   with   the   long  teeth,"     ...     35 
(Miss  L.  Bcrnic  Gallahcr.) 

"His  house  was  deep  clown  among  the  rocks,"     40 
(Dr.  Harry  N.  Chichcstcr.} 

"They  shuffled  off  as  fast  as  they  could,"     .     .     46 
(C.  H.   Townscnd,  Zoltoi  Sands.) 

"As  though  a  great  city  had  risen  from  the  sea,"  51 
(C.   H.    Townscnd,   Zoltoi    Sands.) 

"Holostaik  awoke,  sniffed  and  raised  his  head,"     55 
(Dr.  Harry  N.  Chichcstcr,  Zoltoi  Bluffs.) 

"Kotik   taught    Minda    to    swim," 60 

(Dr.  Harry  N.  Chichcstcr,  Zoltoi   Sands.) 

"Little   Lukutha  grew  faint  and  thin,"     ...     65 
(D.    IV.   Thompson  and  A.   Marrett.) 

"Atagh    was    sleeping    yet," 66 

(Dr.  Harry  Chichcstcr.} 


List  of  Illustrations. 

PEN  DRAWINGS 

By  Chloc  Lesley  Starks. 

PAGE 

"Calling  across  the  surf  day  after  day,"     ...  14 

'The  little  chutchki  birds  sang  loudly,"     ...  15 

:The  mightiest  of  all  the  beach-masters,"     .     .  16 

•'Then  Atagh  knew  that  they  must  fight,"     .     .  17 

"The  black-zoned  rock-fish," 18 

"Like  spectres  in  the  great  rollers,"     ....  19 

"Bit  him  in  the  throat  till  Atagh  roared  again,"  20 

"Boys  are  so  silly;  they  don't  go  into  society,"  21 

"I  knew  Matka  before  Kotik  was  born,"     .     .  22 

Isogh,  the  hair  seal, 23 

"But  he  never  looked  back  to  see  how  she  fell,"  24 
"When  Atagh  was  fighting,   Matka  would  lift 

Kotik  gently,"        26 

"Matka  never  seemed  to  look  at  Kotik  either,"  27 

"  T  do  not  like  you,'  said  Kotik," 28 

"Don't  you   see   what   heavy   responsibilities   I 

have," 31 

(Zoltoi    Bluffs,    from    a    photograph    by 
PI  any  Chichester.) 

"The  yellow  Atka-fish  with  the  black  zones,"     .     33 
"The   purple   squid,   which   tastes   like   peaches 

and    cream," 34 

(From  a  specimen  thrown  on  deck  of  the  "Bob- 
rik"    in   a    storm    off   Komandorski.) 


List  of  Illustrations. 


PAGE 


"A  long  ribbon  of  kelp  in  his  teeth,"  ....  36 
"Tumbling  them  over  the  cliff  till  the  right  one 

reached  her," 37 

"Kotik  went  over  with  a  splash," 38 

Eichkao,  the  blue  fox, 39 

"And  then  he  learned  the  dolphin  leap,"  .  .  42 
"Old  Sivutch  himself  was  disturbed,  and  roared 

sleepily," 44 

(Tolstoi    Point,    St.    George — Young    Male    Sea- 
lions — from  a  photograph  by  Harry  Chichestcr.) 

The  pollock-fish, 45 

"Orca,  the  Great  Killer," 49 

"Under  the  crest  of  a  breaking  wave,"  ...  54 

"Old  Epatka,  the  sea-parrot," G3 

"Dead  on  the  shining  sands  they  call  Zoltoi, 

the  golden," 64 

"Gavarushka  tried  to  take  her  eyes,"  ....  65 
"The  decks  of  the  schooners,  smeared  with 

their  milk  and  their  blood," 66 

"To  the  islands  of  the  Four  Mountains  they 

have  found  their  way," 67 

"The  dreary  days  have  come," 67 

St.  Paul  Island,  Pribilof  Group,  Bering  Sea, 

Alaska, 71 

(After  Joseph  Stanley-Brown.} 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  present  volume  was  written  for  grown 
people,  and  was  never  intended  for  use  in  the 
public  schools.  It  is  a  valuable  story  for  children, 
however,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  that, 
in  response  to  a  strong  demand,  the  book  is  now 
issued  at  a  price  within  the  limit  of  public  school 
funds.  The  absence  of  a  cheap  edition  has  pre 
vented  its  use  as  a  supplemental  reader,  but  now 
that  an  edition  for  school  use  has  been  prepared, 
the  book  should  at  once  become  one  of  our  most 
popular  supplemental  readers. 

THE  STORY  OF  MATKA  is  a  charming  and  most 
pathetic  story  of  animal  life,  the  pathos  of  the 
story  making  a  deep  impression  on  the  reader. 
The  simple  yet  forcible  manner  in  which  the  life 
on  the  Mist  Islands  is  described,  the  short  sen 
tences  used,  and  the  careful  choice  of  simple 
Anglo-Saxon  words  easily  place  the  story  within 
the  comprehension  of  children.  Unlike  the  aver 
age  "  nature-study  reader,"  which  usually  tells 
what  the  child  should  find  out  for  himself,  and 
tends  to  deaden  his  interest  in  the  real  world 
about  him,  the  present  story  tells  what  should  be 


Introduction 

told,  and  quickens  the  child's  interest  in  all  that 
lives  by  portraying  the  human  element  in  animal 
life  and  by  arousing  his  indignation  at  the  cruel 
manner  with  which  men  treat  "  their  kin  who 
cannot  talk."  Wholly  aside  from  being  a  true 
story  of  animal  life,  it  is  also  a  piece  of  good 
literature,  and,  among  the  many  books  of  its  kind 
which  have  been  produced  within  recent  years,  it 
is  easily  one  of  the  best. 

As  a  supplemental  reader  the  book  is  partic 
ularly  adapted  for  use  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  grade. 
It  possesses  a  charm  and  a  continuity  which  seize 
the  child's  active  interest  and  fix  it  on  the  story, 
and  running  through  it  is  a  human  element  which 
will  make  a  strong  appeal  to  every  child.  In 
emphasizing  this  element  the  teacher  has  a  splen 
did  opportunity  to  prepare  the  way  for  a  more 
humane  treatment  of  all  the  lower  animals.  Be 
cause  of  these  qualities  the  book  possesses  many 
advantages  over  the  usual  type  of  supplemental 
reader,  and  should  have  an  extensive  use  in  the 
public  schools  of  America.  We  need  more  litera 
ture  of  this  kind  in  our  schools. 

ELLWOOD  P.  CUBBERLEY. 


PERSONS. 


ATAGH,  a  beach-master,  homing  on  Tolstoi  Mys. 
MATKA,  his  wife. 
KOTIK,  their  child. 
UNGA,  Atagh's  brother. 

POLSI  (short  for  Polusikatch),  Matka's  brother. 
HOLOSTIAK,  Kotik's  elder  brother. 
MINDA,  Kotik's  sister. 
LAKUTHA,  Kotik's  sister. 
ENNATHA,  Matka's  sister. 
ANNAK,  Ennatha's  child. 
IMNAK,  a  beach-master. 

APOLLON  BOWEDURFSKY,  Chief  of  the  Mist-Islands. 
ISOGH,  the  hair  seal. 
AMOGADA,  the  walrus. 
EICHKAO,  the  blue  fox. 
SIVUTCH,  the  gray  sea-lion. 
KAGUA,  his  wife. 
CHIGNOTTO,  the  sea-otter. 
BOBRIK,  her  son. 
EPATKA,  the  sea-parrot. 
CHUTCHKI,  the  least  auk. 
GAVARUSHKA,  the  burgomaster  gull. 
ORCA,  the  Great  Killer. 

Chorus   of  beach-masters,    sea-lions,   chutchki   birds,    vol 
canoes,  southeaster,  and  surf  of  the  sea. 


THE  STORY  OF  MATKA. 


Unsubstantial  as  a  dream 
Does  my  lone  Mist-Island  seem, 
With  its  flower-bespangled  moss. 
Wet  by  wayward  waves  that  toss 
Flotsam  from  the  farthest  lands 
Over  Zoltoi's  shining  sands, 
While  the  mist  still  broods  above 
Sleep-cap  of  the  Pribilof ' 

This  is  a  true  story,  for  I  knew  Matka  before 
Kotik  was  born,  when  she  was  very  beautiful. 
From  the  little  window  of  the  cabin  in  which  I 
write  these  words  I  can  look  across  the  salt 
lagoon  and  the  mossy  hills  of  the  Mist-Island, 
blue  with  harebells  and  spring  violets,  to  the 
black  Tolstoi  Head  where  the  great  surf  is  break 
ing.  Men  call  these  cliffs  Tolstoi  —  the  strong  one 
—  because  they  are  so  dark  and  heavy.  Here, 
among  the  broken  columns  of  black  basalt,  was 
Matka's  home,  and  here  Kotik  was  born. 

Then,  too,  was  I  not  with  Apollon,  the  chief 
of  the  Mist-Islands,  when  we  found  Matka  dead 


14  The  Story  of  Matka 

on  Zoltoi  sands,  with  the  cruel  spearhead  fast 
in  her  velvet  neck  ?  She  had  tried  to  come 
ashore  at  Tolstoi,  where  Kotik  watched  her  from 
the  rocks  above,  and  little  Lakutha  waited  on 
the  beach  for  her  to  come.  But  Matka  was  not 
strong  enough.  The  rocks  were  steep,  the  surf 
ran  high,  and  she  had  lost  much  blood.  When 
she  tried  to  call  back  to  Lakutha,  the  salt  water 
came  into  her  wounded  throat,  and  the  tide  rips 
swept  her  away,  over  to  Zoltoi,  where  the  great 
waves  threw  her  body  on  the  shining  sands. 
And  little  Lakutha  waited  for  her  on  the  flat 
top  of  a  broken  column,  close  to  the  water's  edge, 
calling  across  the  surf  day  after  day.  She  is 
waiting  there  yet,  but  she  calls  no  longer,  for  she 
fell  asleep  at  last,  and  her  little  pinched  body  still 
rests  in  the  crevice  between  the  columns  of  basalt. 
But  when  Kotik.  was  born,  all  this 
had  not  happened.  There  was  bustling 
life  on  Tolstoi  in  those 
days,  when  the  ice 
floes  all 
melted  in 
the  spring,  and 
the  mist-lands  above 


The  Great  Man- Seal" 


15 


the  rocks  changed  from  white  to  green.  The 
little  chutchki  birds  sang  loudly  as  they  built 
their  nests,  and  the  whole  shore  was  alive  with 
the  beach-masters  and  their  families,  v, 
returning  to  their  homes  from  which  the  ->  ,, 
Storm  King,  who  rules  the  twin  Mist-  \ 
Islands  in  the  winter  time.  ^  •* 

had  driven  them  in  the         ^ 

fan.  *:'    * 

And   in  the     ^    ~~   J*  '"" 
spring,      as     it  *'"»•• 

chanced,   Old    Atagh  -*. 

had  come  back  with  the  -" 
rest.  He  had  been  far  to 
the  south,  to  the  Fairweather 
grounds,  where  the  black- 
zoned  rock-fish  lives,  and  **"  ^ 
he  had  chased  it  to  its 
haunts  among  the  granite  boulders. 
He  had  come  back  strong  and  lusty, 
the  mightiest  of  all  those  they  called 
the  beach-masters.  When  he  blew 
his  breath  in  a  great,  musk-scented  cloud  before 
his  face,  there  were  none  who  dared  oppose 
him.  When  he  had  climbed  over  the  ice  floes 


The  little  chutchki 
birds  sang  loudly." 


16 


The  Story  of  Matka 


to  Tolstoi,  he  roared,  because  the  Storm  King 
had  left  one  of  his  snow  banks  there.  And 
when  he  had  roared,  he  sat  down  on  the  snow 
and  groaned,  because  he  felt  that  great  responsi 
bilities  were  falling  upon  him.  Then  he  roared 
again,  for  by  the  rock  at  the  end  of  the  snow 
bank,  the  same  flat  column  .^B&  on  which  he 
had  stood  all  last  sum-  mer,  was  his 

own  brother,  Unga.  ^^^j»  He  knew 
him  by  his  thick,  ^Ij^im  brown  hair, 
his  long  mustaches,  J||Sfe>MiJf  and  the  scar 


"  The  mightiest  of  all  the  beach-masters." 

on   his   shoulder,    which    Atagh    himself  ha^    cut 
when  Unga  was  paying  court  to  Matka. 

"Go  away,  Unga,  I  want  that  place,"  said 
Atagh;  and  he  groaned,  and  shook  his  head, 
and  sent  his  breath  in  a  great,  white  cloud  across 
the  snow.  But  Unga  roared,  too,  and  blew  his 
breath  as  far  as  Atagh  could.  Then  Atagh  kneu, 


"Atagh  groaned  and  shook  his  head. 


"Haul  Oat  of  the  Sear  17 

that  they  must  fight;  so  he  held  himself  very 
low  in  the  snow  and  struck  out  with  all  his 
might,  making  a  _  great  cut  on 


11  Then  Atagh  knew  that  they  must  fight." 

Unga's  arm  just  below  the  old  scar,  and  the  red 
flesh  showed  again.  And  Unga  stood  up  as  high 
as  he  could  and  cut  the  top  of  Atagh's  head,  so 
that  the  scalp  with  its  long,  blonde  hairs  seemed 
like  a  loose  wig.  Then  Atagh  rose  as  high  as 
Unga  could,  and  seized  him  by  the  waist,  and 
with  a  mighty  effort  threw  him  from  the  snow. 
Then  they  both  groaaed  very  loud,  and  the 
big  tears  flowed  from  their  eyes  and  made  wet 
strips  across  their  cheeks,  for  they  were  sorry 
that  they  must  fight  each  other.  For  they  were 
brothers,  and  for  many  a  day  they  had  been  great 
friends.  Long  days  and  nights  had  they  slept 
side  by  side  on  Zoltoi  sands.  But  this  was  when 
they  were  bachelors,  before  the  great  duties  of 
life  had  come  to  them. 


18 


The  Story  of  Matka 


But  the  battle  did  not  last  long.  When 
Atagh  shook  his  blood-stained  head,  and  roared 
again,  and  blew  out  his  breath  in  a  white  cloud, 
Unga  only  opened  his  mouth  very  wide  and 
looked  toward  the  ocean,  pretending  not  to  see 
Atagh  any  more. 

So  they  became  good  friends  again,  and  Unga 
shuffled  back  to  the  other  side  of  the  snow  and 
left  Atagh  by  the  rock  he  claimed  as  his  own. 

Then  others  came  up  and  would  have  taken 
their  places  with  them  on  the  snow,  but  they 
could  not.  For  Atagh  would  hold  himself  very 
low  as  he  sprang  at  them,  and  Unga  would  stand 
very  high,  and  before  the  intruders  knew  what. 


"  The  black-zoned  rock-fish  " 


The  Silken-Haired  Ones  Come.      19 

had  happened,  they  would  be  tumbled  heels  over 
head,  down  on  the  rocks  of  the  beach.  When 
they  were  all  driven  away,  Atagh  sat  on  the 
snow  and  roared  again  till  the  tears  rolled  down 
his  cheeks,  as  he  wondered  whether  Matka  would 
never  come. 

One  morning  a  long  wave  swept  in  from  the 
sea,  and  there  was  a  great  bustle  on  the  beach, 
a  washing  of  faces  and  a  shaking  of  rich  furs, 


"  Like  spectres  in  the  great  rollers." 

and  Atagh  saw  a  dozen  of  the  silken-haired  ones 
climbing  up  the  hill  from  the  beach  toward  the 
snow  where  he  and  Unga  were  sitting. 

But  Atagh  only  groaned,  and  shook  his  head, 
and  looked  out  toward  the  ocean,  as  if  he  did 
not  see  them.  And  the  silken-haired  ones  saw 
his  bleeding  neck,  and  they  said,  "What  a  brave 


20 


The  Story  of  Matka 


fellow,  he  is;  let  us  stay  with  him  and  give  hi  in- 
consolation."  And  they  lounged  on  the  snow  all 
about  him  in  pretty  attitudes,  swaying  back  and 
'forth  their  long,  soft  necks.  Then  they  pulled 
his  white  mustaches  and  bit  him  in 

the  throat,  till  Atagh  j||jL  groaned  again  and 
shook  his  head,  and  ^MlB\  the  tears  flowed 


Bit  him  in  Ihe  throat  till  Atagh  roared. 

down  his  cheek,  which  meant  that  they  were 
welcome.  But  none  of  them  looked  -at  Unga. 
The  next  day  there  was  another  great  rustle 
on  the  beach,  for  more  of  the  silken-haired  ones 
had  come.  And  one  of  these  was  Matka,  and 
Polsi,  her  brother,  was  with  her.  Polsi  was  talk 
ing  to  Matka  very  briskly.  He  told,  her  about 
the  Mist-Islands,  and  Ungeskelligh,  and  his  little 


70 


The  Drecwn  of  the  Bachelor.        21 


brown  mustaches,  and  how  he  could  almost  blow 

a  cloud,  and  how  he  would  like  to  get  married. 

And    all    the    while    the    tears     rolled     down     his 

cheeks.     But    Matka    laughed. 

she    said;     "  boys    are 

tliey    don't    go    into 

can't  know  boys,  and 

never  speak  to  me, 

Atagh  will  blow  a 

and  you  will  feel 


"  O    you    boy," 
always    so    silly; 
society.      One 
you  must  never, 
for    if   you    do, 
cloud    at    you, 
no  bigger  than 


Boys  are  so  silly;  they  don't  g'o  into  society 


Eichkao,  the  little  blue  fox,  for  all  your  mus 
taches.  Now,  climb  up  on  the  parade  ground, 
like  a  good  little  bachelor,  and  I  will  let  you 
look  down  sometimes  to  see  Atagh,  that  you 
may  grow  to  be  like  him.  Now,  don't  stand 
in  my  way,  for  there  is  Atagh  waiting."  Then 
Unga,  who  was  all  alone,  groaned  aloud,  and 


22 


The  Story  of  Matka 


Polsi    shuffled    up    the    bank    as    fast    as    his    legs 
could  carry  him. 

So  Matka  shook  out  her  silken-brown  hair,  and 
brushed  her  white  throat,  and  climbed  up  the 
rocks  to  the  great  columns  of  lava.  And  Unga 
saw  her  as  she  came  up,  and  stood  in  her  way, 
and  would  not  let  her  pass,  for  he  was  great  and 
strong,  and  Matka  was  small  and  lissome.  "Stay 
with  me,"  .said  Unga;  "  I  am  all  alone."  Then 
he  groaned  very  loud,  and  raised  his  neck,  and 
shook  his  head  three  times,  while  the  tears  ran 
from  his  eyes.  "  See  Atagh,"  he  said;  "he  has 
enough  already,  and  does  not  care  for  you  at  all." 
"That  is  right,"  said  Matka.  "He  is  such 
a  dear,  good,  masterful  fellow;  no  wonder  every 
body  likes  him.  We  shall  all  have  such  good 
times  together.  Don't  you  remember  how  he 

threw    you    and    old 
Imnak  off  the  rocks 
last  year,  and  car 
ried  Ennathaand 
all  the  rest  of 
them   to  his 

own     place, 
i 

'  I  knew  Matka  before  Korik  was  born." 


"What  a  Beach-Master  He  is!"    23 

not  help  yourselves?  How  mad  you  were;  but 
you  could  only  groan,  and  could  never  blow  a 
white  cloud  like  Atagh.  By  the  side  of  Atagh 
the  rest  of  you  beach-masters  are  no  better  than 
old  white  Isogh,  who  can't  raise  his  head,  and 
can  only  wriggle  off  into  the  water  when  a  beach- 


,  the  hair  seal. 

master  looks  at  him.  There  were  forty  of  us  that 
year,  and  we  all  belonged  to  Atagh.  Oh,  what 
a  beach-master  he  is!" 

But  Unga  seized  her  by  the  throat  and  would 
not  let  her  go.  Then  Atagh  heard  Matka  calling, 
and  he  groaned  and  shook  his  head.  Then,  after 
he  had  groaned  again,  he  rushed  across  the  snow, 
and  before  Unga  knew  what  had  happened,  there 
was  another  cut  across  his  breast,  through  which 
the  red  blood  showed  again.  And  Atagh  seized 


24 


The  Story  of  Matka 


Matka  by  the  shoulders,  and,  feet  in  the  air,  he 
tossed  her  over  his  head  so  that  she  fell  among 
the  others.  But  he  never  looked  back  to  see  how 
she  fell,  and  all  the  time  he  stood  face  to  face  with 
Unga,  shaking  his  head  and  blowing  out  his 
breath  in  a  great  cloud.  But  Unga  only  looked 
out  over  the  sea  as  if  nothing 
had  happened.  So  the  two  were 


But  he  never  looked  back  to  see  how  she  fell." 


good  friends  again.  There  were  now  many  more 
of  the  silken-haired  ones  on  the  shore,  and  some 
of  them  came  to  Atagh,  and  some  of  them  to 
Unga;  but  I  need  not  tell  their  stories,  for  it  is 
always  thus  on  the  Mist-Islands. 

So    Atagh    shuffled    back    to    his    place,    and 
groaned     as     he    thought    of   the     responsibilities 


Where  Kotik  was  Born.  25 

of  life.  But  Matka  said  briskly:  "What  a  nice 
rock  you  have  chosen,  dear;  and  so  many  of 
them  with  you!  How  strong  you  are;  how  they 
all  must  admire  you!  There  were  forty  last  year; 
let  us  have  fifty  this  year.  But  little  brown  Matka 
is  the  best  of  all;  is  n't  she,  dear?"  And  she 
snuggled  up  close  to  Atagh,  and  bit  him  a  little 
in  the  sides  of  his  neck,  and  pulled  his  long  mus 
taches.  And  Atagh  shook  his  head  and  pretended 
to  groan,  and  the  tears  ran  from  his  eyes,  but  he 
was  pleased  for  all  that,  though  he  would  never 
let  Matka  know  it. 

And  Polsi,  Matka's  brother,  watched  them 
from  the  rock  above  the  snow,  and  he  shook  his 
head  and  blew  his  breath  out  a  little,  just  as  he 
had  seen  Atagh  do.  But  when  Atagh  saw  him 
and  groaned  once,  Polsi  fell  off  from  the  rock 
and  tumbled  heels  over  head  into  the  sea. 

And  right  here,  close  to  the  sea,  among  the  big 
rocks  under  Tolstoi  Head,  where  you  look  down 
from  the  old  fox-walk,  Kotik  was  born.  When 
I  first  saw  Kotik  the  snow  bank  had  melted 
away.  The  silken-haired  ones  were  all  come,  and 
the  Storm  King  nad  fled  to  his  fastness  in  the 
north.  Matka  slept  on  the  flat  blocks  of  lava. 


26 


The  Story  of  Matka 


and  Kotik  was  already  a  sturdy  fellow,  for  Matka 
had  watched  him  closely  all  these  first  days. 
None  of  the  other  silken-haired  ones  dared  snap 
at  him  when  Matka  was  looking;  and  when 
Atagh  was  fighting,  Matka  would  lift  Kotik  gently 
by  the  neck  and  place  him  in  a  safe  place  behind 
some  rock.  Kotik  soon  learned  to  toddle  away 
and  hide  under  the  rocks  when  Atagh  was  rushing 


'•When  Atagh  was  fighting,  Matka  would  lift  Kotik  gently  " 

about,  for  to  learn  to-  creep  under  a  rock  so  as  not 
to  be  trodden  under  foot  is  the  first  rule  of  the 
Mist-Islands;  and  the  second  rule  is,  to  go  away 
and  play  with  one's  fellows  when  one  is  not 
wanted  at  home.  Kotik  had  learned  to  know 
Matka's  voice,  and  to  come  when  she  wanted 
him.  He  could  climb  the  sides  of  the  slanting 
rocks  all  by  himself  when  there  was  not  anything 
for  him  to  eat.  Atagh  never  looked  at  him,  for 


One  Sleeps  Much  at  Tolstoi.         27 

he  would  not  have  Matka  think  that  he  cared  for 
children. 

Besides,  as  the  summer  went  on,  the  responsi 
bilities  of  life  grew  heavier  on  Atagh.  He 
slept  a  good  deal,  and  when  he  was  awake  he 
would  shake  his  head  and  groan.  And  after 
a  while,  Matka  never  seemed  'to  look  at  Kotik, 
either.  But  when  he  was  out  of  sight,  he  was 
always  in  her  thoughts;  she  would  open  her  sleepy 
eyes,  and  without  rising  from  her  resting-place, 
she  would  call,  and  call,  until  Kotik  should  answer. 
Then  she  would  go  back  to  sleep  again,  and  Kotik 
slept  by  her  side.  For  one  sleeps  much  on  the 
Mist-Islands.  The  time  moves  slowly  there,  for 
it  is  always  afternoon,  and  those  who  stay  there 
sleep,  and  sleep,  and  wait. 


Matka  never  seemed  to  look  at  Kotik. 


28  The  Story  of  Matka 

One  day  I  came  to  Tolstoi  Head,  and  looking 
down  over  the  ledge,  I  saw  them  all  fast  asleep  — 
Atagh  beside  his  rock  with  his  nose  in  the  air, 
while  Matka  was  lazily  comfortable  on  her  back 
among  the  stones,  her  arms  spread  w'ide  apart  and 
her  white  throat  showing  soft  like  velvet.  Kotik 
lay  close  by  her  with  outstretched  limbs,  trying 
to  look  as  much  like  Matka  as  he  could. 

"  O  Matka,"  said  I,  "  let  me  look  at  your 
little  boy1"  Matka  woke  with  a  start,  and 
brushed  her  throat  nervously 

with  her  hands.     "Yes, 
A. 

you    may,"    said 

she;  "  but  I  must 
^--     go  and  wash 
my     face."      But 
Kotik  said:   "No, 

kc  youT'  said  Kotik."  ,         .  T 

you  cannot  look  at  me.  I 
do  not  like  you;  go  away  and  let  me  alone. 
If  you  don't  go,  I  will  bite  you,  and  I  will  tell 
Atagh,  my  father,  and  he  will  groan  at  you 
and  bite  you,  too.  Let  me  alone,"  said  Kotik. 
So  Matka  went  off  to  wash  her  face  in  the  sea. 
But  Atagh  saw  her  going,  and  would  not  have  it. 
He  groaned  again  over  the.  troubles  of  life,  and 


"Polsi  began  to  laugh." 


OF   THE 

I   UNIVERSITY  J 

OF 

=£dUFORN\i 


The   Troiibles  of  Life.  29 

one  could  hear  him  a  mile  away.  He  leaned  back 
on  the  rock  when  he  roared,  and  opened  his 
mouth  wide,  and  the  tears  ran  from  his  eyes. 
Then  he  groaned  again  and  shook  his  head  four 
times.  But  Matka  would  not  have  me  see  her 
till  she  had  washed  her  face,  and  she  tried  again 
to  run  away.  But  Atagh  said,  "  Matka,  you  shall 
not  go;  I  have  said  so,  and  I  must  have  my  way." 
So  he  seized  her  by  the  neck  and  flung  her  over 
his  shoulder  back  into  her  place.  "  Look  at  me," 
he  said;  f'l  never  wash  my  face;  I  never  eat;  I 
never  drink;  I  never  waste  my  time  in  frivolity. 
1  have  stayed  right  here  at  home  all  these  two 
months.  I  have  worked  hard,  and  you  shall  stay 
with  me."  And  Matka  sat  very  still  behind  the 
rock  and  looked  at  Atagh  admiringly. 

Then  Atagh  saw  me,  and  he  groaned  and 
shook  his  head  again.  "Go  away,"  he  said; 
"  don't  you  see  how  hard  it  is  to  manage  a  house 
hold?  When  visitors  come,  they  break  up  family 
discipline."  And  Kotik  sat  on  the  rock  and 
roared,  too,  in  his  little,  high-pitched  voice,  shak 
ing  his  black  head  till  I  could  see  his  white  teeth. 
"Don't  you  see  how  you  trouble  us,"  said  he; 
"  it  is  all  that  we  can  do  to  manage  Matka, 


30  The  Story  of  Matka 

anyhow,  even  if  you  don't  corne  meddling  with 
our  affairs." 

Then  Polsi,  Matka's  brother,  who  was  sitting 
alone,  watching  from  the  rock  above  like  a  sen 
tinel,  began  to  laugh.  But  Atagh  snorted  at  him, 
and  he  ran  away  as  fast  as  his  long,  flat  feet 
could  carry  him,  and  while  he  ran  he  tumbled 
over  little  Holostiak,  and  they  both  went  flip-flap, 
bumping  their  noses  against  the  rocks  till  they 
splashed  into  the  sea. 

But  Matka  meant  to  wash  her  face  all  the  time, 
though  she  pretended  not  to  care  any  more,  and 
she  sat  quite  still  and  craned  her  neck,  looking  at 
me  all  the  while  with  sleepy,  curious  eyes.  "  Do 
go  away,"  said  Atagh;  "don't  you  see  what  heavy 
responsibilities  I  have?"  Then  he  began  to  pant, 
for  he  was  stout  and  growing  scant  of  breath,  and 
he  groaned  again  when  he  thought  of  all  the  cares 
life  had  brought  him. 

Then  Kotik  began  to  cry  as  loud  as  he  could. 
But  no  one  took  any  notice  of  him.  So  he  wiped 
his  eyes  with  his  flat,  brown  hands  and  ran  off  to 
play  with  the  other  black-haired  little  fellows, 
each  with  a  white  spot  under  his  ribs.  They  were 
crawling  up  a  flat  rock  and  sliding  back  every 


32  The  Story  of  Matka 

time  they  got  half  way  up.  And  when  one  of 
them  would  fall  off  from  a  rock  and  bump  his 
nose,  then  all  the  others  would  climb  to  the  same 
place  and  do  the  same  thing.  And  Kotik  saw 
them,  so  he  went  up  to  climb,  and  slide,  and 
bump  his  nose  with  them.  And  he  was  climbing 
and  sliding  still  when  I  went  away. 

And  Matka  washed  her  face  after  all,  for  Atagh 
went  to  sleep  after  he  had  groaned  some  more; 
and  Matka  slipped  softly  by  him  and  went  down 
to  the  sea.  For  she  always  had  her  own  way  at 
the  end.  This  is  why  Atagh  groaned  so  much 
and  shook  his  head. 

When  I  next  came  to  Tolstoi,  Atagh  was  lying 
on  tne  rock  fast  asleep,  sprawled  out  at  full  length, 
his  head  hanging  off  from  one  side  of  the  rock,  his 
long  feet  dropping  down  from  the  other.  Matka 
had  been  away  for  a  week,  but  she  had  already 
taught  Atagh  that  she  should  always  do  as  she 
pleased.  She  had  run  down  one  day  to  wash  her 
face  in  the  sea,  and  Atagh  was  so  sleepy  that  he 
could  not  hold  her  back.  When  Unga  tried  to 
stop  her,  she  struck  him  sharply  on  the  chin,  so 
that  he  was  willing  to  let  her  go.  For  he,  too, 
was  very  sleepy,  and  groaned  to  himself  because 


Pretending  Not  to  Notice.  33 

life  on  the  Mist-Islands  was  so  full  of  responsibili 
ties.  Then  old  Imnak  saw  Matka  coming,  and 
he  tried  to  seize  her  and  hold  her  back.  But 
Matka  was  as  deft  as  a  cat,  and  slid  behind  him, 
and  plumped  herself  into  the  water  just  beside 
her  brother  Polsi,  and  they  both  went  off  making 
long,  dolphin  leaps.  But  Matka  looked  back  once 
to  blow  a  kiss  to  old  Atagh,  who  had  just  waked 
up  and  who  pretended  not  to  notice  it,  while  he 
groaned  and  shook  his  head.  And  she  called 
to  Kotik,  who  was  climbing  a  great,  slippery 
rock,  from  which  he  could  slide  down  plump 
into  a  little  pool  of  water.  For  it  was  time  now 
for  Kotik  to  learn  to  swim. 

Where   Matka  went,  no  one  can  tell,  for  it  is  •» 
only  the  silken-haired  ones  that  know  the  way  to 
the     bank     of    sunken 
mountains  which  is  the 
home    of    the    yellow 
Atka-fish     with     the 
black     zones,     and     of 

"  The  yellow  Atka-fish  with  the  black  zones 

the  purple  squid  which 

tastes  like  peaches  and  cream,  and  the  sleek- 
skinned  dream-fish,  which  is  the  nicest  of  all. 
There  are  many  who  have  sought  for  this  bank, 


34 


The  Story  of  Matka 


as  there  are  many  who  have  tried  to  find  the 
foot  of  the  rainbow;  but  only  the  silken-haired 
ones  know  the  way,  and  those  who  have  thought 
that  they  found  it  have  never  been  able  to  go 
back  to  the  place  again.  For  it  lies  far  away, 
toward  the  Islands  of  the  Four  Moun- 


u  The  purple  squid,  which  tastes  like  peaches  and  cream." 


tains,  in  the  edge  of  the  Icy  Sea;  and  the  giant 
kelp  spreads  over  it  like  a  curtain,  and  rises 
and  falls  with  the  rolling  surge.  To  go  there, 
you  must  first  find  the  twin  Smoke-Islands, 
which  steam  and  sputter  day  and  night,  because 
they  are  hot  and  the  water  they  are  in  is 
cold.  Then  you  leave  them  wrell  to  the  wind 
ward,  and  go  on,  and  on,  till  you  see  Chignotto, 
with  the  thick,  gray  fur,  swimming  on  her  back 
in  the  kelp.  Her  little  Bobrik  she  holds  in  her 
arms,  clasping  him  close  to  her  breast  when  the 
surf  is  high.  And  here  the  silken-haired  ones 


She  Does  What  She  Pleases.       35 

go  when  they  are  hungry,  and  they  have  no 
fear  of  Chignotto,  for  little  Bobrik  claims  her 
whole  attention,  and  all  are  friends  who  live  in 
the  Icy  Sea. 

And  there,  too,  is  the  home  of  old  Amogada, 
with  the  long  teeth,  who  shakes  his  great  head, 
and  roars,  and  look  very  terrible.  But  Matka 
had  no  fear  of  him,  for  she  knew  that  he  was 
only  scolding  his  wife,  and  whatever  Amogada 
says,  she  will  do  exactly  as  she  pleases,  for  that 
is  the  law  of  the  Icy  Sea. 

When  Matka  had  eaten  her  fill  of  Atka-fish, 
dream-fish,  and  squid,  she  thought  of  hungry 
Kotik,  and  of  Atagh  standing  lonesome  beside 
his  rock,  with  his  nose  in  the  air  all  these  days. 
But  first,  she  must  sleep  a  little,  for  a  nap  after 
eating  is  always  good  for  digestion,  and  she  is 

always  well  fed  who  dines  at   the  Sign 

' 


Rising  and  falling  with  the  waves." 


36  The  Story  of  Matka 

of  the  Four  Mountains.     Besides,  it  is  a  rule  of 
the    Mist-Islands    that    one    should    never    go    on 
shore    with    fish    in    one's    stomach.     So    Matka 
lay   quietly   on   the    water  for   a   day,  rising  and 
falling  with  the  waves,  and  when  she  awoke  she 
fanned  herself  softly  in   her  own   dainty  fashion. 
Atagh    waited    and    slept,  and    when    he    was 
awake    he    groaned    and    roared    patiently.      But 
Kotik  grew  uneasy.      He  would  slide  on 
the  rocks,  and  paddle  on 
the    water, 
and  sometimes 
he    arid 
his  little 
friends  would 
play  beach- 
master. 

He  would   seize   a   long   ribbon   of 
kelp  in  his  teeth  and   would  shake        "A  long  ribbon  of  keip  in 

his  teeth." 

his  head  very  quickly,  tearing  it 
to  pieces,  just  as  Atagh  would  tear  the  skin  of 
the  young  beach-masters  when  they  came  too 
near  Matka.  And  then  he  would  pretend  to 
dive  for  fish,  but  he  could  only  bring  up  a  cast- 
off  shell  or  a  piece  of  kelp.  But  whatever  he 


Matka  Calls  for  Kotik. 


31? 


got  he  would  shake  with  all  his  might  so  ihat 
it  could  not  get  away.  And  he  learned  to 
swallow  the  pebbles  and  shells,  for  one  should 
always  have  a  little  of  something  solid  in  his 
stomach  when  he  goes  about  on  the  land.  Then 
he  would  try  to  talk  to  Atagh,  but  his  father 
would  only  groan  and  act  as  if  he  did  not  see 
Kotik. 

One  day  Matka  came  ashore.  She  shook 
out  her  hair,  rubbed  her  eyes,  and  crept  up 
the  bank  to  her  Tolstoi  home.  She  looked 
neither  to  the  left,  nor  to  the  right,  pretended 
not  to  notice  Atagh,  who  was  sleepier  than  ever, 
and  she  called  aloud,  "Kotik,  Kotik!  "  A  dozen 
little  black  -haired  fellows  crept  up  the  rocks 
when  they  heard  her  calling,  but  she  thrust 
them  carelessly  aside,  tumbling 
them  over  the  cliff  till  the 
right  one  reached  her  at  last. 
She  gave  him  one  kiss 
of  recognition;  but 
she  would  not  even 
look  at  him 
after  that, 
for  she 


"  Tumbling  them  over  the  cliff  till  the  right  one  reached  her." 


38  The  Story  of  Matka 

did  not  want  Kotik  to  know  that  she  cared 
for  him.  So  she  made  him  wait  until  she 
had  dressed  herself,  and  was  ready  to  give 
him  his  dinfter,  before  she  would  turn  her  eyes 
toward  him  again.  For  it  is  not  good  form 
to  show  either  love  or  anger  on  the  Mist- 
Islands. 

When  Matka  was  ready,  she  crowded  Atagh 
out  of  the  way,  and  lay  down  on  the  smoothest 
rock  on  Tolstoi,  first  pushing  off  all  the  little 
ones  who  had  gathered  there  to  play,  and  had 
gone  to  sleep  before  the  game  was  finished.  She 
thrust  them  rudely  down  the  bank,  while  their 
mothers  sleepily  complained  to  Atagh.  But 
Atagh  knew  that  Matka  was  always  right.  So 
he  groaned  and  shook  his  head,  while  she  went 
to  sleep  on  the  rocks,  with  Kotik  by  her  side. 
And  when  Kotik  had  taken  all  that  she  had 
brought  for  him  from  the  Sign  of  the  Four 


44  Kotik  went  over  with  a  splash." 


The  Voice  of  the  Beach  Master.      39 


Mountains,  he  lay  down  on  his  back  under  a 
rock,  where  no  beach-master  could  step  on  him, 
and  slept  for  a  whole  day,  his  flat,  brown  hands 
crossed  on  his  breast,  and  his  flappy  little  feet 
moving  like  a  fan.  And  Atagh  thought  how 
pretty  Matka  was,  and  what  a  noble  little  fellow 
Kotik  was  coming  to  be.  Then  he 
leaned  back,  and  shook  his  head 
three  times,  and  groaned  very 


Eichkao,  the  blue  fox. 


loud.  But  that  did  not  wake  up  Matka  nor 
Kotik,  for  their  sleep  was  all  the  sounder  the 
more  loudly  he  roared.  "His  voice  is  like  the 
surf  of  the  sea/'  Matka  said,  "and  it  does  one 
good  to  hear  it."  Then  Atagh  laid  his  bushy 
head  on  the  rock  and  stretched  out  his  limbs 
just  as  far  as  they  would  reach.  Soon  he,  too, 
was  fast  asleep. 


40  The  Story  of  Matka. 

One  day  little  Holostiak  was  playing  with 
Kotik  by  the  water's  edge,  and  for  mischief  he 
pushed  the  little  fellow  down  the  bank  into  the 
sea.  Kotik  went  over  with  a  splash.  He  was 
very  much  scared.  He  held  up  his  head  as  high 
as  he  could,  and  then,  before  he  knew  it,  his 
nose  went  under.  Then  he  came  tip  snorting 
and  gasping,  and  if  he  had  not  paddled  for  dear 
life  with  both  his  flappy,  brown  hands,  he  would 
have  gone  to  the  bottom.  Then  he  would  have 
drowned,  and  the  waves  would  have  washed  him 
up  on  the  beach  for  Eichkao,  the  blue  fox,  to 
carry  home  to  his  children,  as  he  had  carried 
off  little  Annak  the  day  before. 

This  little  blue  fox  bore  the  name  of  Eichkao, 
and  he  was  a  thief.  He  had  built  his  house  down 
deep  among  the  rocks  under  the  moss  on  the  Mist 
Island,  and  his  fox  children  used  to  stay  down  among 
the  rocks.  There  they  would  gurgle,  gurgle,  gurgle, 
whenever  they  heard  anybody  walking  over  their 
heads.  Eichkao  and  his  fox  wife  used  to  run  all 
around  over  the  rocks  to  find  something  for  them  to 
eat,  and  whenever  he  saw  anybody  coming  he  would 
go  "clin-n-g,"  "cling-g-g,"  and  his  voice  was  high  and 
sharp,  just  like  the  voice  of  a  buzz  saw. 


The  Little  Blue  Fox.  41 

One  day  he  walked  out  on  the  rocks  over  the 
water  and  began  to  talk  to  the  black  sea-parrot, 
whose  name  is  Epatka,  and  who  sits  erect  on  a  lazily- 
built  nest  with  one  egg  in  it,  and  wears  a  great  big 
bill  made  of  red  sealing  wax.  He  has  a  long,  white 
quill  pen  stuck  over  each  ear,  and  over  his  face  is  a 
white  mask,  so  that  nobody  can  know  what  kind  of 
a  face  he  has,  and  all  you  can  see  behind  the  mask 
is  a  pair  of  little,  foolish,  twinkling,  white,  glass  eyes. 
What  the  two  said  to  each  other  I  don't  know,  but 
they  did  not  talk  very  long;  for  in  a  few  minutes, 
when  I  came  back  to  his  house  among  the  rocks, 
Eichkao  was  out  of  sight,  and  there  lay  out  on  the 
bank  a  bill  made  of  red  sealing  wax,  a  white  mask, 
and  two  little  white  quill  pens.  There  were  a  few 
bones  and  claws  and  some  feathers,  but  they  did  not 
£eem  to  belong  to  anything  in  particular,  and  the  lit 
tle  foxes  in  the  rocks  went  "gurgle,"  "gurgle," 
"gurgle." 

One  day  I  lay  down  on  the  moss  out  by  the  old 
fox  walk  on  the  Mist  Island,  and  Eichkao  saw  me 
there,  and  thought  I  was  the  young  brother  of  Amo- 
gada,  the  walrus.  I  might  be  good  to  eat  and  would 
feed  all  the  little  foxes  for  a  month.  So  he  ran 
around  me  in  a  circle,  and  then  he  ran  around  again, 
then  again  and  again,  always  making  the  circle 


42  Jhe  Story  of  Matka. 

smaller,  till  finally  the  circle  was  so  small  that  I 
could  reach  him  with  my  hand.  As  he  went  around 
and  around,  all  the  time  he  looked  at  me  with  his 
cold,  gray,  selfish  eye,  and  not  one  of  all  the  beasts 
has  an  eye  so  cruel-cold  as  his.  When  he  thought 
that  he  was  near  enough  he  gave  a  snap  with  his 
jaws  and  tried  to  bite  out  a  morsel  to  take  home  to 
the  little  foxes,  but  all  I  offered  him  was  a  piece  of 
rubber  boot.  And  when  I  turned  around  to  look 
at  him  he  was  running  away  as  fast  as  he  could,  call 
ing  "clin-n-g,"  "clin-n-g,"  "clin-n-g"  like  a  scared  buzz 
saw  all  the  time  as  he  went  out  of  sight.  And  I 
think  that  he  is  running  yet,  and  the  little  foxes  still 
go  "gurgle,"  "gurgle,"  "gurgle,"  underneath  the  rocks. 

One  day  Holostiak  came  in  from  the  wet  rocks 
and  showed  Kotik  how  to  swim. 

He  showed  him  that  the  way  to  keep  his 
head  up  was  to  hold  it  low,  so  that  only  his 
nose  was  in  the  air,  and  to  throw  the  water 
back  with  his  hands.  And  then  he  learned  the 
dolphin  leap,  when  one  swims  partly  under 


'And  then  he  learned  the  dolphin  leap." 


Learning  the  Dolphin  Leap.        43 

water  and  partly  in  the  air,  and  breathes  only 
when  he  is  jumping.  When  Kotik  could  do  this, 
he  was  very  happy.  And  as  he  splashed  about, 
the  water  washed  away  all  his  black  hairs,  leav 
ing  him  all  over  a  soft,  silvery  gray — "just  like 
Atagh,"  he  said  in  his  little  boyish  pride.  But 
Matka  laughed,  for  she  knew  better.  She  knew 
that  Kotik  must  shed  his  hair  many  times  be 
fore  it  would  be  a  full  velvet  brown,  whitened 
by  silvery  bristles.  Besides,  Atagh  had  mus 
taches  a  foot  long,  and  great  teeth  to  bite  with, 
instead  of  the*  little  pin  points  around  Kotik's 
mouth. 

And  when  Kotik  could  swim  very  well,  and 
could  go  all  alone  from  Tolstoi  to  Zoltoi,  Matka 
was  very  proud  of  him. 

One  day  he  swam  around  to  the  island  where 
Sivutch,  the  gray  sea-lion,  lives,  and  he  found  the 
brown  sea-lion  babies  asleep  on  the  rocks  off  the 
shore.  So  he  climbed  up  there  with  them,  and 
began  to  play  with  them,  just  as  he  played  with 
his  fellows  at  Tolstoi.  But  the  others  said:  "Go 
away,  little  boy.  We  can't  play.  We  are  big 
and  all  that,  but  we  don't  know  anything.  Let 
us  alone."  And  they  opened  their  mouths  as  wide 


44 


The  Story  of  Matka 


as  they  could,  and  cried,  and  cried,  whenever 
Kotik  looked  at  them.  And  Kagua,  the  great, 
foolish,  white-skinned  mother,  plunged  into  the 
water,  and  put  out  her  head,  and  called  piti 
fully  in  a  deep,  anxious  voice,  so  that  huge  old 
Sivutch  himself  was  disturbed,  and  raised  the 
great  mountain  of  flesh  he  called  his 
head,  and  roared  sleepily.  And 
his  voice  was  like  the  deep,  full 


"Old  Sivutch  himself  was  disturbed,  and  roared  sleepily." 

bass  note  of  a  mighty  organ.  You  might  go 
around  the  world  before  you  would  hear  the 
like  again.  But  Sivutch  meant  nothing  when 
he  roared,  for  he  was  not  even  awake. 

Then  Kotik  saw  that  he  was  not  wanted  by 
the  Sivutch  family,  so  he  swam  away  home  and 
found  old  Atagh  groaning  and  shaking  his  head. 
He  said:  "I  have  stood  here  on  this  rock  all 


A  tag  ft  Goes  off  to  Dine.  45 

summer  and  have  not  eaten  once,  nor  washed 
my  face.  You  and  Matka  do  not  need  me  any 
more.  I  am  going  away.  Good-by.  Take  care 
of  yourselves.  I  will  come  back  after  dinner." 
So,  without  any  more  ceremony,  Atagh  shuffled 
down  to  the  beach,  not  once  looking  back  at 
Matka.  Unga  followed  him,  and  old  Imnak 
came,  too,  and  they  went  off  together  in  high 
spirits,  rollicking  away  like  the  jolly  old  boys 
they  were.  For  they  were  all  great  friends 
always  when  they  were  off  duty.  And  they 
swam  away  together  with  great,  dolphin  leaps  to 
the  Storm  King's  gate,  where  the  pollock-fish 
could  always  be  found  in  plenty.  For  Atagh 
was  easily  suited  when  he  had  enough  to  eat, 
and  .  he  had  no  taste  for  the  creamy  squid  and 
the  clear-skinned  dream-fishes  which  the  silken- 
haired  ones  delight  in. 


The  pollock-fish. 


*6  The  Story  of  Matka 

Then  Polsi,  who  had  sat  alone  on  the  rock 
above  for  a  whole  month,  waiting  for  Atagh  to 
leave,  shuffled  down  to  his  place,  and  pulled  his 
mustaches,  and  fanned  himself  unconcernedly, 
as  he  tried  to  look  very  strong  and  brave.  He 
shook  his  head,  and  groaned,  and  blew  out  his 
breath  in  a  little  cloud.  But  whenever  he  heard 
any  one  coming,  he  trembled  all  over,  and  more 
than  once  he  was  scared  out  of  his  wits.  Then 
he  left  the  silken-haired  ones  and  threw  himself 
into  the  sea  because  he  thought  he  heard  Atagh 
growl. 

But  Polsi  had  good  reason  to  be  afraid,  for 
one  day  Atagh  came  back  all  unexpectedly.  He 
gave  one  great  growl  as  he  landed  on  the  beach, 
and  Unga,  who  was  with  him,  roared  and  blew 
out  his  breath  just  as  he  had  done  when  they 
came  for  the  first  time.  And  when  Polsi  and 
the  rest  of  them  heard  it,  they  put  their  heads 
low  and  shuffled  off  just  as  fast  as  they  could. 
Then  Atagh  and  Unga,  who  were  very  fat,  and 
strong,  and  wide-awake,  came  back  to  their 
places  rollicking  and  roaring,  and  they  called 
the  silken-haired  ones  around  them,  and  every 
thing  went  on  just  as  before.  When  Matka  saw 


-     - 

'      OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 


OF 


When  Bachelors  are  Happy.        47 

Atagh,  she  was  very  glad,  but  she  pretended 
not  to  notice  him.  She  was  busy  looking  for 
Kotik,  and  did  not  stay  very  long  in  one  place, 
and  went  from  Atagh  to  Unga,  and  anywhere 
she  pleased,  just  as  Kotik  did.  And  everybody 
began  to  do  that,  so  that  Atagh  could  not  keep 
trace  of  his  family.  But  he  was  rather  glad  to 
be  free,  and  he  went  off  one  day  to  sleep  on 
Tolstoi  sands  and  get  well  ready  for  the  Long 
Swim.  Then  Polsi,  who  had  been  watching  all 
the  time,  came  down  and  took  his  place.  When 
the  beach-masters  are  away  comes  the  hap 
piest  time  of  all  the  year  for  those  who  are 
bachelors. 

When  Matka  saw  Polsi,  she  laughed.  "  So 
here  the  boys  are  coming  to  Tolstoi  again.  It 
is  time  for  us  to  take  the  Long  Swim,  Kotik. 
See,  the  Mist-Islands  are  white  and  not  green; 
the  sun  does  not  look  at  us  any  more,  and 
soon  the  spray  will  all  grow  hard  and  slippery, 
and  we  cannot  climb  upon  the  rocks." 

So  Matka  and  Kotik  swam  off  with  dolphin 
leaps,  and  when  they  were  well  out  at  sea, 
they  looked  back  and  saw  Polsi  all  alone  on 
Atagh's  rock.  All  of  the  silken-haired  ones 


48  The  Story  of  Matka 

had  left  him,  and  all  their  silvery-gray  children 
with  them.  There  was  no  more  life  and  bustle 
on  the  cold,  bleak  Tolstoi  cliffs.  For  Atagh 
and  Unga  had  already  gone  again.  This  time 
they  went  to  the  Fairweather  grounds,  where 
they  would  stay  all  winter,  to  come  back  early 
in  the  spring.  For  they  dared  not  go  too  far, 
because  they  knew,  that  if  they  were  not  back 
early,  someone  else  would  take  their  places,  and 
they  might  never  get  back  into  society  again. 

But  Polsi  stayed  on  Tolstoi  till  everyone 
else  was  gone,  and  was  very  happy,  because 
he  was  now  as  good  as  Atagh.  And  little 
Holostiak,  who  was  Kotik's  older  brother,  crept 
down  to  Unga's  place,  and  the  Storm  King 
brought  the  snow  back  again,  and  the  two 
stood  alone  upon  it,  and  felt  very  proud  and 
manly. 

All  at  once  Polsi  said-  "I  feel  very  hungry. 
Why,  I  have  n't  eaten  a  thing  for  a  month. 
Let  us  go  and  get  some  pollock-fish."  "Just 
what  I  was  thinking  of,"  says  Holostiak;  "  they 
can  all  see  now  that  we  are  real  beach-masters, 
now  the  thing  for  us  to  do  is  to  have  a  good 
dinner."  So  they  went  down  to  the  sea,  and 


Taking  the  Long  Swim.  49 

washed  their  faces,  and  then  swam  right  away 
to  the  Storm  King's  gate,  where  the  pollock 
lives,  and  is  soft  and  tender.  When  they  had 
eaten  all  they  could,  and  had  a  long  sleep  on 
the  waves,  they  swam  across  to  the  Fairweather 
grounds,  where  they  found  Atagh  and  Unga. 
But  they  were  afraid  of  them  no  more,  and 
they  went  on  farther,  and  farther,  a  thousand 
miles  to  the  south.  They  dodged  the  Great 
Killer,  Orca,  who  would  have  stained  the  sea 
with  their  blood.  For  he  hates  the  sons  of  the 
beach-masters,  and  destroys  them  whenever  he 
can;  and  often  he  lies  in  wait  for  them  as  they 
pass  through  the  Storm  King's  gate. 

They  passed  Kotik  and  Matka,  and  all  the 
rest  of  the  silken-haired  ones,  till  they  came  to 
the  Gray-Islands  in  the  Blue  .  Seas.  At  the 


•Orca,  the  Great  Kilter." 


50  The  Story  of  Matka 

Gray-Islands  the  mist  was  all  gone;  the  sun 
shine  was  hot,  and  they  could  see  the  moon 
overhead  at  night.  Then  they  knew  that  it  was 
time  to  go  back.  So  they  swam  around  all 
the  islands,  not  forgetting  the  last  one  with 
the  tall,  ragged,  brown  cliffs,  and  the  caves 
where  the  brown  sea-wolves  yelp  day  and  night, 
in  their  silly,  puppy  fashion.  Then  they  went 
straight  back  to  the  north,  taking  always  the 
coldest  current,  going  through  the  gates  of  the 
Storm  King,  and  past  the  black  cape,  called 
Cheerful,-  and  by  the  line  of  the  great  floes 
they  found  their  way  to  the  Icy  Seas,  to  the 
Mist-Islands.  And  on  the  flat  columns  of  Tol 
stoi  Head,  Polsi  and  Holostiak  climbed  first 
of  all,  and  they  found  the  snow-  bank  there 
just  as  it  was  the  year  before. 

When  Unga  and  Atagh  came  back  again  and 
saw  them,  they  blew  out  their  breath  in  great 
white  clouds.  Holostiak  ran  away  with  all  his 
might,  but  Polsi  was  not  frightened  at  all.  For 
he  could  roar  and  blow  a  cloud,  and  his  teeth 
were  long  and  sharp.  So  Atagh  had  the  hardest 
fight  of  his  life  before  he  could  drive  away 
Matka's  brother.  When  the  struggle  was  over, 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


Good  Friends  after  Battle.          51 

and  each  one  .had  a  bloody  shoulder,  they  were 
all  good  friends  again,  and  pretended  not  to  see 
each  other.  But  there  were  three  of  them  on 
the  snow  bank  instead  of  two,  and  Polsi  was 
in  the  middle,  and  could  groan  and  shake  his 
head  just  as  well  as  Atagh  could.  When  the 
silken-haired  ones  came  back,  it  was  very  hard 
for  them  to  choose,  for,  though  Polsi's  mustaches 
were  not  quite  so  long,  his  hair  was  very  black, 
and  he  shook  his  head  proudly,  and  could  blow 
out  his  musky  breath  in  grqat  white  clouds  across 
the  snow.  And  on  Tolstoi  again  it  was  as  though 
a  great  city  had  risen  from  the  sea. 

Matka  and  Kotik,  too,  had  gone  far  out  in.ta 
the  broad,  blue  sea,  careless  of  storm  or  sunshine, 
so  long  as  they  moved  on,  day  by  day,  in  their 
southward  course.  They  found  many  fishes  on 
their  way  —  white-fish  and  rose-fish,  but  the 
yellow  Atka-fish  of  the  Icy  Sea  tasted  better 
than  any.  "Now,"  says  Matka  at  last,  "let 
us  go  back  home."  And  they  swam  back 
strongly  and  swiftly,  for  Kotik  was  almost  as 
large  as  his  mother  now,  and  his  feet  and 
hands  were  bigger.  Every  day,  as  they  came 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Mist-Islands,  they  grew 


52  The  Story  of  Matka 

more  and  more  merry.  One  morning,  they  saw 
a  great  cone-shaped  mountain  with  smoke  coming 
out  of  the  top.  "  That  is  Shishaldin,"  said  Matka; 
"there  the  Storm  King  has  his  kitchen;  from 
that  you  will  know  your  way  home.  Now  you 
see  the  thick  mists  rushing  through  the  snow 
mountains.  That  is  Akutan  and  the  gate  of  the 
Storm  King,  through  which  you  go  to  the  Icy 
Sea.  Then  you  come  to  the  great  Moss-Island, 
where  the  white  volcano  steams  and  puffs. 
There  the  mountain  is  cleft  in  twain,  and  a  white 
cascade  leaps  from  the  midst  of  it  straight  out 
into  the  sea.  Now  the  gray  mists  draw  their 
curtain  before  the  scorching  sun.  Where  you 
see  the  water  falling,  it  is  the  Cape  called 
Cheerful,  and  you  know  you  are  almost  home. 
Two  days  more,  and  we  will  see  the  Mist- 
Islands,  and  old  Atagh  waiting  for  me  at 
Tolstoi." 

"  Waiting  for  you,  Matka,"  said  Kotik;  "can 
not  I  go  to  Tolstoi,  too?"  "No,  you  foolish 
boy,"  says  Matka,  "you  must  not  come  to 
Tolstbi.  Atagh  would  be  very  angry,  and  all 
the  silken-haired  ones  would  bite  you.  You 
must  go  off  with  Holostiak,  and  Kamnin,  and 


The  Duties  of  Bachelors.  5  3 

all  the  rest  of  them,  to  the  sands  of  Ungeskelligh. 
There  you  may  swim  in  the  water  every  day, 
and  you  may  sleep  on  the  sands  when  it  is 
warm,  and  on  the  grass  when  it  is  wet.  And 
you  may  swim  to  Lukanin  when  the  surf  is  high, 
and  to  Zoltoi  when  the  wind  is  in  the  east; 
and  you  may  swim  and  eat,  and  play  and  sleep, 
as  you  will.  But  you  must  never  come  to  me. 
And  when  you  swim  past  Tolstoi,  you  may  call 
to  me,  but  I  shall  never  answer;  and  Atagh  will 
groan  and  shake  his  head  because  you  are  such 
a  foolish  boy.  And  when  the  chief,  Apollon, 
comes  to  drive  you  up,  you  must  go  right  along 
and  make  no  fuss,  for  it  is  the  way  on  the 
Mist-Islands." 

And  Kotik  was  sad,  for  he  wanted  to  stay 
with  Matka.  He  loved  the  black  rocks  of  Tol 
stoi,  and  he  didn't  want  to  be  driven  up.  But 
then  a  great  wave  swept  over  the  reef,  and  the 
silken-haired  ones  came  up  rustling  and  bustling 
to  Tolstoi,  and  climbed  over  the  rocks  to  where 
Atagh,  and  Polsi,  and  Unga  were  waiting,  each 
with  his  nose  in  the  air,  and  pretending  not 
to  see  them.  "Good-by,"  said  Matka,  and 
Atagh  roared  so  loudly  that  Kotik  was  terribly 


54  The  Story  of  Matka 

frightened,  and  swam  away  so  hastily  that  he  did 
not  stop  till  he  reached  the  long,  curving  stretch 
of  sands  beyond  Tolstoi  they  called  Ungeskelligh, 
which  means  the  place  for  bachelors. 

Here  he  found  Holostiak,  and  his  mustaches 
were  growing,  and  he  could  already  blow  a 
little  cloud.  And  there  were  many  more  of 


Under  the  crest  of  a  breaking  wave. 


the  bachelors,  little  and  big,  and  they  had  a 
joyous  time  together.  Sometimes  they  would 
pretend  to  fight,  to  groan,  and  to  blow  out 
their  breath.  But  this  was  only  play,  for  they 
never  hurt  each  other.  Then  they  would  bound 
down  the  sands  into  the  sea,  and  swim  around 
to  Zoltoi  and  back  again  with  long,  dolphin 
leaps.  And  they  liked  above  all  to  creep 
under  the  crest  of  a  breaking  wave,  so  that  they 


The  Drive  from  Tolstoi  55 

could  look  out  on  either  side  as  it  fell  over 
them.  And  when  he  went  around  Tolstoi  Head, 
Kotik  would  call  out  to  Matka,  and  Atagh 
would  shake  his  head  at  him  and  groan.  But 
Matka  was  busy  with  little  Minda,  and  she 
never  answered  back. 

One  night  they  were  all  asleep  on  the  Unge- 
skelligh  sands  when  they  heard  some  one  moving 
about  in  the  mist.  Holostiak  awoke,  sniffed, 
and  raised  his  head.  "  That  is  Apollon,"  he 
said.  "  There  is  going  to  be  a  drive."  Then 
he  ran  down  to  the  sea  and  plunged  in,  and 
never  stopped  till  he  came  to  Tolstoi,  so  fright 
ened  was  he.  Here  he  climbed  up  the  rocks 
and  rushed  right  in  among  the  silken-haired 
ones,  scarcely  knowing  what  he  was  doing. 
"The  drive,  the  drive,"  he  screamed.  "  What 
do  you  want  here?"  growled  Polsi;  and  he  and 
Unga  seized  Holostiak  by  the  shoulders  and 
threw  him  off  from  the  rocks  into  the  sea  in  half 
the  time  it  takes  to  tell  it.  And  Matka  looked  up 
sleepily  and  said:  "  Dear,  dear,  how  foolish  these 
boys  are!  I  thought  Holostiak  had  been  killed  in 
a  drive  by  this  time.  I  hope  Kotik  will  never 
be  so  silly.  I  am  glad  that  Minda  is  not  a  boy." 


56  The  Story  of  Matka 

So  the  drive  went  on,  and  the  bachelors  were 
all  awakened  from  their  sleep,  and  men  stood 
between  them  and  the  water,  so  that  they  had  to 
climb  up  the  sands  and  over  the  hill.  It  was 
hard  work  to  go  up  hill  in  the  sands,  and  they 
stepped  on  each  other's  feet,  and  tumbled  about  in 
confusion.  But  it  was  good  fun  for  Kotik.  Every 
minute  something  new  would  happen.  Some  of 
them  would  stop  and  shake  their  heads,  snorting 
and  groaning.  Then  Kotik  would  laugh  at  them 
and  pretend  to  bite  them  in  the  throat  or  ribs. 

When  they  came  up  from  the  sand  over  the 
rocks,  they  went  along  much  more  easily.  And 
it  was  pleasant  on  the  wet  grass  where  the  yellow 
poppies  grow,  and  the  great,  blue  violets.  But 
Kotik  did  not  care  for  these;  he  liked  the  cool 
dew,  and  it  was  such  a  joke  to  be  driven  along 
in  a  crowd.  But  when  they  came  to  go  down 
hill,  they  would  slip,  and  step  on  each  other's 
feet,  and  roll  heels  over  head  in  funny  con 
fusion.  When  they  came  to  a  little  pond,  they 
all  plunged  into  it  and  made  a  great  splashing. 

The  drive  came  to  its  end  at  the  old  killing 
ground,  Asascardano,  beside  the  salt  lagoon, 
where  the  purple  monk's-hood  waves  its  poisoned 


Why  the  Rye- Grass  is   Tall.        57 

flowers,  and  the  rye-grass  is  tall,  because  the 
bones  lie  thick  about  its  roots.  There  were 
many  others  there  from  Lukanin  and  Zoltoi, 
and  they  all  lay  down  in  the  grass,  panting  and 
pretending  to  bite  each  other. 

Then  Kotik  saw  a  little  "  pod "  of  thirty, 
that  the  chief  had  driven  up  apart  from  the 
rest,  and  the  men  closed  in  about  them  in  a 
moment,  and  only  the  biggest  and  smallest  ones 
were  left;  for  all  those  who  were  three  years 
old,  and  whose  skins  had  no  scars,  lay  dead  on 
the  grass.  It  is  not  pleasant  to  tell  the  story  of 
Asascardano,  If  killing  must  be  done,  one  does 
not  like  to  hear  about  it.  So,  if  my  lady  wishes 
to  know  where  her  rich  fur  cloak  comes  from, 
she  must  ask  some  one  else. 

Kotik  did  not  mind  it  much  till  his  "pod" 
from  Tolstoi  was  driven  up.  But  when  he  saw 
the  blows  falling  on  his  companions'  heads,  he 
was  furious  with  wrath,  and  the  big  tears  ran 
all  over  his  face.  He  rushed  at  Apollon  and 
struck  at  him  with  all  his  might,  just  as  he 
had  seen  Atagh  strike  at  old  Unga.  But  the 
chief  kept  him  off  with  his  club,  and  Kotik 
could  not  reach  him  anywhere. 


58  The  Story  of  Matka 

When  the  killing  was  over,  and  those  who 
were  left  were  creeping  disconsolately  through 
the  grass  on  their  way  down  to  the  salt 
lagoon,  Kotik  would  not  go.  He  groaned, 
and  shook  his  head,  and  showed  all  his  white 
teeth.  "  He 's  a  fine  fellow;  hear  him  growl," 
said  the  chief.  "When  he  grows  up,  then  look 
out." 

But  the  chief  went  away  and  left  him.  They 
drove  up  another  pod  a  little  way  off,  and 
Kotik  was  left  in  the  grass  all  alone  with  his 
wrath.  When  he  found  that  he  could  not  get 
at  the  chief,  Kotik  shuffled  off  to  the  lagoon 
and  swam  back  as  straight  as  he  could  to  Un- 
geskelligh  sands.  And  he  forgot  to  call  to 
Matka  as  he  went  around  Tolstoi  Head,  for  his 
little  heart  was  full  of  anger. 

I  should  like,  if  I  could,  to  tell  how  Kotik 
resolved  that  there  should  be  no  more  drives, 
and  how  he  led  all  the  silken-haired  ones  and 
all  the  beach-masters  in  a  great  revolt,  and 
swam  away  to  the  twin  Storm-Islands  in  the 
thicker  mist,  where  the  green  foam  curls  about 
the  hollowed-out  cliffs  of  Zapalata,  and  the 
black  reefs  close  the  way  to  all  intruders.  But 


The  Twin  Storm-Islands.  59 

this  is  a  true  story,  and  I  can  tell  only  the  truth. 
He  did  nothing-  of  the  kind.  When  he  came  to 
Ungeskelligh,  Kotik  found  the  strand  so  quiet 
and  the  sand  so  cool,  the  surf-beat  so  soothing 
and  the  mist  so  pleasant,  that  he  lay  down  and 
went  to  sleep. 

For  it  is  the  way  of  the  Mist-Islands,  that 
when  one  is  unhappy,  he  sleeps  well,  and  when 
he  awakes  all  is  forgotten.  Kotik  awoke,  full 
of  the  joy  of  the  great  sands  and  the  sea, 
and  his  anger  had  all  faded  away.  Ten  days 
later,  when  Apollon  came  around  again,  Kotik 
followed  in  the  drive,  doing  just  what  was 
expected  of  him  from  start  to  finish.  And  so 
did  Holostiak,  for  he  had  less  fear  of  the  drive 
than  of  Atagh's  terrible  groan  and  Polsi's  sharp 
teeth. 

"For  there  have  always  been  drives,"  every  one 
said,  "and  drives  there  will  always  be."  And  it  is 
well  for  them  that  it  is  so,  else  the  whole  Mist-Islands 
would  be  covered  with  struggling  beach-masters,  and 
the  silken-haired  ones  would  have  no  peace  of  mind 
or  body  and  their  little  ones  would  all  be  trampled 
under  foot. 


60  The  Story  of  Matka. 

But  Kotik  did  not  forget  Matka,  and  one  day 
he  went  over  to  Tolstoi  Head  and  climbed  right 
up  among  the  silken-haired  ones,  taking  always 
good  care  to  be  on  the  other  side  of  the  rocks 
from  Atagh.  And  Matka  looked  at  him  sleepily 
and  said,  "You  foolish  boy."  But  she  did  not 
drive  him  away.  Atagh  looked  over  at  him 
and  growled.  But  he  knew  it  was  only  Kotik. 
Besides,  Atagh  was  very  sleepy.  So  he  lay 
down  and  pretended  not  to  see  him. 

After  a  while  Matka  said,  "Now,  be  a  good 
boy;  go  away,  and  when  the  Great  Ice  comes 
down  from  the  north  we  will  swim  off 
together." 

So  Kotik  went  down  to  the  shore.  Unga 
and  Polsi  growled  at  him  all  the  way  down, 
but  no  one  did  more  than  growl. 

On  the  shore  he  found  little  Minda, 
and  he  spent  the  whole  afternoon  teaching 
her  to  swim.  Then  he  went  around  to 
Lttkanin,  for  he  liked  to  lie  on  the 
level  rocks  that  face  the  long  curve 
of  the  beach.  The  soft  sand  made  his  short  legs 
tired,  so  when  he  wished  to  rest  he  climbed  up 
on  the  rocks.  But  to  the  rocks  of  Tolstoi  he 


Playing  Beach-Master.  61 

would  not  go  again,  for  he  would  not  be  likely 
to  find  Atagh  another  time  in  such  gentle  mood. 

Holostiak  and  Kotik  were  good  friends,  and 
went  about  together  a  good  deal,  climbing  the 
rocks  or  swimming  about  the  Mist-Islands  in 
dolphin  leaps,  looking  like  spectres  in  the  great 
rollers. 

But  one  day  Holostiak  stepped  on  Kotik's 
foot.  He  did  it  on  purpose,  just  to  see  the 
little  fellow  sprawl  on  the  sand.  Then  Kotik 
growled  and  blew  out  his  breath,  and  Holostiak 
groaned  and  held  his  head  low,  striking  Kotik 
a  quick  blow  on  the  shoulder.  Then  Kotik 
raised  his  head,  looking  the  other  way,  and  pre 
tended  not  to  notice  it.  So  they  were  good 
friends  again,  and  Kotik  was  very  proud  of 
the  scar,  for  it  showed  that  he  was  big  enough 
to  fight,  even  if  Apollon  had  turned  him  off 
four  times  from  the  drive. 

When  Unga  and  Atagh  left  Tolstoi  again 
and  went  off  to  sleep  on  the  rocks,  Holostiak 
and  Kotik  climbed  to  the  place  where  they 
had  been,  and  pretended  to  groan  over  the 
responsibilities  of  life,  to  blow  out  their  breath, 
and  to  push  about  the  silken-haired  ones,  just 


62  The  Story  of  Matka 

as  they  had  seen  the  beach-masters  do.  But 
the  silken-haired  ones  only  laughed  at  them, 
and  said  to  their  children,  "  It  is  time  for  us  to 
be  gone,  for  the  boys  are  playing  beach-master." 
But  Matka  waited  to  the  last  for  Kotik,  just 
as  she  had  promised. 

Then  came  another  year,  and  Kotik  had  to 
go  away  again  to  Ungeskelligh  with  the  others. 
But  Apollon  turned  him  back  from  every  drive, 
because  he  was  still  too  small.  Holostiak 
would  not  stay  on  the  sands  any  longer  with 
Kotik.  He  climbed  up  over  the  rocks  at  Tol 
stoi,  and  sat  there  all  summer  long,  looking 
dow*n  at  Atagh  and  Polsi,  just  as  Polsi  had 
done  the  years  before. 

The  next  year  Kotik  was  a  splendid  fellow, 
with  skin  as  soft  as  Matka's,  and  his  mustaches 
were  plainly  to  be  seen.  He  went  into  the 
drive  again,  and  he  thought  himself  the  best 
of  them,  for  he  was  now  three  years  old.  But 
Apollon  turned  him  back  just  the  same,  because 
he  had  a  scar  on  his  shoulder,  and  would  only 
make  a  second-grade  skin  at  the  best,  for  all 
he  was  so  brave.  And  Kotik  felt  ashamed  of  his 
scar  and  himself.  Then,  whenever  the  time  came 


Watching  from  the  Old  Fox-  Walk.    63 


for  the   drive,    and    he    heard    the    chief   coming 
he    plunged    right    into    the   sea.      So,    when   the 
others  were  driven,  he  was  always  out  of  reach, 
on  the  sands,  or  the  cliffs,  or  the  waves,  so  that 
he  never  went  to  Asascardano  any  more. 

And    the    fourth    year,    and  the    fifth,    he  left 
the    sands    and    watched    all 
summer  long  on  the  rocks  over 
looking  Tolstoi.     Sometimes 
he  stood  on  the  cliffs,  above 
his  mother,  like  a  sentinel, 
nose  in  the  air.     By  his  side, 
day    and    night,    was    old 
Epatka,  the  sea-parrot,  who 
sits  on  one  egg  and  never 
speaks,    and    who    has    no 
friends    among    the    other 
birds.     His  bill  is  made  of 
red    sealing    wax,   and    he 
covers  his  face  with  a  white 

mask,  so  that  no  one  knows  what  he  is  really 
like.  He  is  a  fantastic  creature,  and  his  tem 
per  is  as  bad  as  his  looks,  and  he  has  many 
quarrels  with  the  little  blue  fox,  for  the  bones 
of  his  fathers  lie  bleaching  by  Eichkao's  den. 


Old  Epatka,  the  sea-parrot." 


64  The  Story  of  Matka 

But  Kotik  liked  him,  and  Epatka  did  not  fear 
Kotik,  and  they  spent  many  days  together  on 
the  rocks  beside  the  old  fox-walk. 

Kotik's  face  was  always  turned  toward  Matka 
and  Atagh.  Sometimes  he  would  climb  up  frorr 
below  and  stretch  himself,  like  a  great  lizard, 
along  the  boulders  over  which  the  surf  was 
breaking.  But  when  Atagh  would  roar  and  blow 
out  his  breath,  he  would  run  away  as  fast  as  he 
could,  plumping  into  the  water  with  a  great 
splash,  and  looking  back  at  Matka  by  the  sea. 

And  then  at  last  came  the  sad  summer,  when 
the  ships  of  the  Pirate  Kings  found  their  way  into 
the  Icy  Sea.  It  was  then  that  we  picked  up 
Matka,  with  a  spearhead  in  her  throat,  dead  on 
the  shining  sands  they  call  Zoltoi,  the  golden. 
And  Lakutha,  her  little  one,  who  had  been  so 


lltutx  I'"          "  ,u. 

"  Dead  on  the  shinine  sands  they  call  Zoltoi,  the  golden 


ps 

OF   THE 

" 

OF 

' 


Dead  on  ike  Shining  Sands.        65 

plump  and  joyous,  grew  faint  and  thin,  until  she 
died  at  last.  Atagh  was  sore  at  heart,  though 
he  pretended  not  to  notice  it.  But  he  groaned 
and  shook  his  head  with  all  his  might  when 
the  blue  thief,  Eichkao,  tried  to  steal  away  her 
little  body,  and  great  white  Gavarushka  tried 
to  take  away  her  eyes  as  playthings 
for  his  children. 
And 


he  slept 

a  great  deal   on 

the    rocks,    letting    the       ^~J 

Silken -haired       Ones      COme         «  Gavarushka  tried  to  take  her  eyes.' 

and  go  as  they  would,  not 

caring  where  they  were,  or  who  might  seize 
them.  He  went  away  from  Tolstoi  very  early 
in  the  fall,  long  before  the  ground  was  white, 
and  Kotik,  who  had  been  watching  all  the  time 
from  the  rocks  above,  crept  down  and  took 
his  place. 

Atagh  swam  out  slowly  around  Tolstoi  Head 
and  across  to  the  Great  Reef.  Then  he  turned 
to  the  north,  to  the  soft  resting  place  on  Zoltoi 


66 


The  Story  of  Matka 


Sands,  where  he  had  often  slept  in  the  after 
noons  when  he  was  a  bachelor.  Then  he  crept 
slowly  out  of  the  water,  his  broad  feet  sinking 
deep  in  the  shining  sands.  Then  he  shook 
himself, .and  looked  backward  toward  Tolstoi, 
and  groaned  again  over  all  the  cares  of  life, 
and  the  tears  made  wet  strips  across  his 
cheeks.  Then  he  shuffled  back  over  Zoltoi 
sands  to  the  Great  Dunes,  where  the  sands  lie 
in  smooth  banks  between  tufts  of  tall  rye-grass. 
Here  Atagh  lay  down  and  went  to  sleep. 

And  when  Kotik  came  back  in  the  spring 
and  climbed  over  the  broken  ice-floes  to  take 
his  place  at  Tolstoi,  Atagh  was  sleeping  yet. 

And  now  the  dreary  days  have  come  to  the 
twin  Mist-Islands.  The  ships  of  the  Pirate 


Kings   swarm    in 
islands    of    the 
have    found    the 
Smoke-Island 
because  it 


the  Icy  Sea.     To   the 
Four    Mountains   they 
way.       The    great 
v     has  ceased  to  roar, 

\\ 

cannot   keep 


^_-s£?  V^ 
44  The  decks  of  the  schooners,  smeared  with  their  milk  and  their  blood." 


The  Silken- Haired  that  Never  Come. 


them  back.  The  blood  of  the  silken-haired  ones, 
thousand  by  thousand,  stains  the  waves  as  they 
rise  and  fall.  The  decks  of  the  schooners  are 
.smeared  with  their  milk  and  their  blood,  while 
their  little  ones  are  left  on  the  rocks 


fai.    ' 

To  the  islands  of  the  Four  Mountains  they  have  found  their  way." 


to  wail  and  starve.  The  cries  of  the  little  ones 
go  up  day  and  night  from  all  the  deserted  homes, 
from  Tolstoi  and  Zoltoi,  from  Lukanin  and 
Vostochni,  and  from  the  sister  island  on  Staraya 
Artil.  Meanwhile,  Kotik  and  Unga,  Polsi  and 
Holostiak,  stand  in  their  places,  roaring  and 
groaning,  waiting  for  the 
silken-haired  ones  that 
never  come. 

Their  call  comes 
to    me   across    the 


The  dreary  days  have  come. 


68  The  Story  of  Matka 

green  waves  as  I  write.  I  turn  my  eyes  away 
from  Tolstoi  Head  and  put  aside  my  pen.  It 
is  growing  very  chill.  The  mist  is  rising  from 
the  Salt  Lagoon,  and  there  is  no  brightness  on 
the  Zoltoi  sands. 

Written  on  Sr.   Paul, 

The   Prihilof  Islands,   Bering  Sea, 
July  28,   1896. 


^m  I 

s 

fc 


$ 

tt) 

a 

'S 

35 

a. 

3 
O 
M 

O 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


CALENDAR  OF  THE  MIST-ISLANDS. 
(Dates  approximate  and  variable.) 


Matka  turns  back  from  the  Farallones,  January   1. 

Holostiak  turns  back  from  Cape  Flattery,  February  1, 

Atagh  leaves  the  Fairweather  grounds,  March  20. 

Atagh  passes   Cape  Cheerful,  April  20. 

Atagh  reaches  Tolstoi,  May  1. 

The  beach-masters  follow,  May  15. 

Arrival  of  Polsi,  May  10. 

Arrival  of  Holostiak,  July  1. 

Arrival  of  Matka,  June  15, 

Arrival  of  silken-haired  ones,  June  10  to  July  20. 

Height  of  responsibilities  of  life,  July  10  to  July  20. 

Birth  of  Kotik,  June  20 

Birth  of  majority  of  young,  July  5. 

Trampling  of  young  in  battle,  June  20  to  July  29. 

The  drives,  July  1  to  July  25. 

Minda  returns  (yearling),  August  1. 

Kotik  learns  to  swim,  August  1. 

Atagh  grows  hungry,  sleepy,  and  gentle,  August  5. 

Atagh  goes  away  to  feed,  August  10. 

Polsi  takes  his  place,  August  10. 

Atagh  returns  fat  and  lively,  September  15. 

The  pirate  ships  enter  the  Icy  Sea,  August  1. 

Lakutha  starves  to  death  on  the  rocks,  August  15. 

The  Storm  King  drives  the  pirates  from  the  Icy  Sea. 

September  15. 

Kotik  is  weaned,  November  10. 
The  long  swim  begins,  November  15. 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  STORY  OF  MATKA 

BY  GEORGE  ARCHIBALD  CLARK. 

Secretary  to  Bering  Sea  Fur  Seal  Commission.  1896  and  1897, 
also  of  1909. 


THE    MIST    ISLANDS    AND   THEIR    NEIGHBORS. 

St.  Paul  Island,  the  scene  of  the  Story  of  Matka, 
is  one  of  a  group  of  five  rocky  islands  lying  in 
the  southeastern  portion  of  Bering  Sea,  in  Lat.  57  N. 
and  Long.  170  W.  This  island  and  its  companion, 
St.  George,  each  about  a  township  in  area,  are  the  only 
important  ones  in  the  group.  The  islands  were  first 
discovered  by  the  Russian  navigator  Gerassim  Pribil- 
of  in  1786  and  bear  his  name  today.  In  summer  they 
are  all  but  constantly  enveloped  in  fog  occasioned  by 
the  meeting  of  the  warm  Japan  current  with  the  icy 
breath  from  the  Arctic.  Hence  they  are  appropriately 
called  the  "Mist-Islands."  They  are  volcanic  in  origin, 
treeless  and  without  possibilities  of  cultivation.  Yet 
their  plains  are  covered  with  wild  flowers  and 
their  valleys  with  luxuriant  grasses.  In  winter  the  skies 
are  clear  and  the  weather  cold.  Snow  falls  and  late  in 
the  winter  the  drift  ice  from  the  Arctic  packs  in 
for  a  time  about  them.  There  are  no  harbors  or  safe 
anchorage  against  the  storms  of  winter  and  the  islands 
are  therefore  absolutely  cut  off  from  one  another  and 
from  the  rest  of  the  world  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  year. 

(69) 


70  Appendix. 

Cape  Newenham  on  the  mainland  of  Alaska  is  the 
nearest  land  to  the  eastward,  three  hundred  miles  away. 
To  the  south,  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant,  is 
Unalaska  Island,  in  the  Aleutian  archipelago.  This 
island  contains  the  rugged  old  mountain  Makushin.  It 
contains  also  the  harbor  of  Unalaska,  once  familiar  as 
a  way  station  for  vessels  bound  for  St.  Michaels  and 
the  Yukon.  The  twin  passes  of  Akutan  and  Unalga 
separate  Unalaska  Island  from  Akutan  Island,  on 
which  is  the  volcano  (p.  52)  of  the  same  name.  The 
next  island  to  the  eastward  is  the  "Moss  Island," 
Unimak,  on  which  is  the  beautiful  snow-clad  cone  of 
Shishaldin,  rising  nearly  'ten  thousand  feet  in  height. 
This  is  "where  the  Storm  King  has  his  kitchen." 
There  are  probably  branch  kitchens  at  Akutan  and 
Makushin,  for  all  three  volcanos  "steam  and  puff." 

Near  Unalaska  Island,  and  between  it  and  the  Pribil- 
of  Islands  are  the  "Twin  Smoke  Islands,"  Old  and  New 
Bogoslof.  The  first  of  these  rose  a  red  hot  mountain 
peak  from  the  sea  in  1795.  Beside  it  for  a  long 
time  stood  a  single  shaft  of  stone  known  as  Sail  Rock. 
This  disappeared  in  1883  and  a  second  burning  moun 
tain  rose  from  the  sea  to  the  accompaniment  of  sub 
terranean  thunders  and  earthquake  shocks.  This  sec 
ond  island  has  now  too  ceased  to  "sputter  day  and 
night,"  though  it  is  still  warm.  A  third  Bogoslof  is 
land  appeared  hot  and  steaming  about  the  time  of  the 
California  earthquake  of  1906.  These  islands  are  ap 
parently  in  line  with  the  great  California  geologic 
fault.  In  1909  this  third  island  has  disappeared,  and 
in  its  place  there  is  a  lake  of  boiling  water  arising  in 
the  icy  sea. 


Appendix.  71 

The  "Twin  Storm  Islands"  lie  at  the  other  side 
of  Bering  Sea,  near  the  coast  of  Kamchatka.  These 
are  the  islands  of  Bering  and  Medni,  the  Komandorski, 
or  islands  of  the  Commander,  so  named  in  honor  of 
their  discoverer,  Virus  Bering.  While  returning  from 
his  momentous  voyage  of  1741,  in  which  he  found  the 
mainland  of  the  American  continent  in  the  vicinity  of 
Mt.  St.  Elias,  his  vessel  was  wrecked  on  the  island 
which  bears  his  name,  and  there  Bering  and  most  of  his 
company  died.  The  survivors  escaped  the  following 
spring,  taking  with  them  knowledge  of  the  great 
herds  of  fur-bearing  animals  which  made  their  homes 
on  the  new  islands.  These  islands  are  intimately  con 
nected  in  history  with  the  Pribilof  Islands  because  it 
was  the  search  for  new  island  homes  and  new  herds 
of  "sea  bears"  or  fur  seals  that  led  forty-five  years 
later  to  Pribilof's  discovery. 

THE    FUR    SEALS    AND    THEIR    NEIGHBORS, 

The  fur  seals  of  the  Southern  hemisphere  are  widely 
scattered  among  the  islands  of  the  South  Seas.  Those 
of  the  north  are  confined  to  the  islands  of  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  chiefly  to  the  Pribilof  and  Comman 
der  groups,  with  certain  islands  in  the  Kuril  chain  to 
the  north  of  Japan.  We  are  indebted  to  Georg  Wil- 
helm  Steller,  a  German  naturalist  connected  with 
Bering's  expedition  of  1741,  for  our  first  knowledge 
of  the  fur  seals  of  Bering  Sea. 

The  hair  seal,  Isogh,  and  Sivutch,  the  sea  lion,  share 
with  the  fur  seal  the  shores  of  St.  Paul  and  all  three 
live  in  neighborly  relations.  The  hair  seal  (p.  23)  is 


72  Appendix. 

the  true  seal.  The  fur  seals  are  more  properly  what 
their  discoverer  called  them,  "sea  bears."  The  sea  lion 
(p.  44)  of  the  Pribilofs  is  the  same  animal  that  makes 
its  home  on  Ano  Nuevo  Island  and  the  Farallones  and 
has  made  the  Seal  Rocks  of  San  Francisco  famous. 
He  was  one  of  the  "four  beasts  of  the  sea"  which 
Steller  studied  on  the  Commander  Islands  in  1741. 

The  sea  otter  (p.  35)  Chignotto  or  Bobrik,  a  timid 
creature  whose  fur  is  now  of  exceeding  great  value, 
once  lived  in  the  kelp  beds  about  the  Pribilof  Islands, 
particularly  Otter  Island,  which  has  its  name  from 
this  fact.  The  Russians  called  it  "Bobrik."  But  Bo 
brik  has  abandoned  these  shores  as  well  as  most  other 
haunts  accessible  to  man,  and  his  race  is  well  nigh 
extinct. 

Amogada,  (p.  35)  the  Pacific  Walrus,  was  once  well 
known  to  the  shores  of  St.  Paul,  and  great  areas  on 
Morjovi  beach  are  still  covered  with  his  bones.  Until 
within  very  recent  years  a  herd  of  three  hundred  or 
more  of  these  beasts  made  Walrus  Island,  just  off  the 
shore  of  St.  Paul,  a  summer  resting  place;  but  the 
sportsman's  rifle  has  driven  them  back  to  their  fast 
nesses  in  the  Arctic,  although  herds  of  10  to  50  of 
them  are  occasionally  seen  on  the  ice  floes  which  collect 
in  Norton  Sound  before  Nome  in  June.  The  picture 
of  Amogada  is  taken  from  a  mounted  specimen,  in 
the  National  Museum  at  Washington,  captured  on 
Walrus  Island. 

Eichkao,  (p.  40)  the  blue  fox,  is  and  always  has  been 
an  interesting  inhabitant  of  the  Pribilof  Islands.  Steller 
found  him  on  the  Commander  Islands  also,  and  Ber- 


1 


"** 


I 


Appendix.  73 

ing's  men  had  difficulty  in  keeping  their  dead  and  dying 
comrades  from  his  teeth.  His  "fox  walks"  today  on 
St.  Paul  radiate  in  all  directions,  from  his  dens  in  the 
castle-like  rock  piles,  to  the  cliffs  where  Epatka,  the 
sea  parrot  (p.  63)  and  his  associates  the  guillemots  and 
chutchkis,  (p.  15)  have  their  nests.  His  long  silken 
fur  is  scarcely  less  valuable  than  that  of  the  fur  seal 
itself. 

There  were  no  native  people  on  the  Pribilof  Islands 
when  found.  This  is  a  characteristic  of  islands  occu 
pied  by  the  fur  seals  as  breeding  homes.  The  Russians, 
however,  early  in  the  present  century  brought  over 
Aleuts  from  Attu  and  Unalaska  Islands  to  work  the  fur 
seal  industry  and  the  descendants  of  these  now  look  up 
on  the  islands  as  their  home.  They  live  very  comforta 
bly  in  two  villages,  the  one  on  St.  Paul  numbering  about 
two  hundred  souls,  that  on  St.  George,  about  half  as 
many.  Each  village  has  its  "company"  store,  its  church 
of  the  Greek-Russian  faith  and  its  English  school.  A- 
gents  of  the  Government  and  agents  of  the  Company 
leasing  the  fur  seal  industry,  care  for  the  welfare  of  the 
Aleuts,  for  the  seals  and  the  various  interests  involved. 

THE   NATURAL   HISTORY  OF  THE  FUR  SEALS. 

The  animals  spend  only  the  summer  on  the  islands. 
The  adult  males  land  early  in  May  (pp.  17  and  49)  and 
are  followed  in  June  and  July  by  the  females.  Each 
"beachmaster"  (p.  16),  in  accordance  with  the  polyg 
amous  habits  of  the  animals  gets  about  him  as  many  fe 
males  as  be  can  control.  These  family  groups  are  called 
"harems"  (p.  20).  A  group  of  harems,  defined  usually 


74  Appendix. 

by  the  configuration  of  the  coast,  is  known  as  a  "rook 
ery"  (p.  51).  There  are  about  fifteen  of  these  rookeries 
covering  about  eight  miles  of  shore  line.  The  young 
are  born  in  June  and  July.  By  the  first  of  August  the 
rigid  discipline  of  the  harem  system  relaxes.  The 
beachmasters,  which  have  fasted  since  their  arrival,  go 
away  to  feed  and  during  the  rest  of  the  summer  the 
mothers  come  and  go  between  the  fishing  banks  far  out 
in  Bering  Sea  and  their  young  on  shore.  The  young 
learn  to  swim  (P.  60)  at  the  age  of  six  weeks  and  after 
wards  spend  most  of  their  time  in  the  water.  In  No 
vember,  when  the  severe  storms  of  winter  begin, 
mothers  and  young  leave  the  islands.  The  latter  are 
soon  left  to  their  own  resources  and  the  former  make 
a  rapid  and  direct  journey  down  through  the  Pacific 
Ocean  to  the  latitude  of  Southern  California,  where 
they  are  found  in  and  about  Santa  Barbara  Channel 
early  in  December.  The  females  journey  slowly  back 
along  the  coasts  of  California,  Oregon,  and  Washing 
ton — gradually  picking  up  the  other  classes  of  animals 
which  do  not  go  so  far  south, — past  Vancouver  Island, 
across  the  Gulf  of  Alaska,  by  Kadiak  and  the  Shuma- 
gins  and  through  the  Aleutian  passes  to  their  island 
homes  in  Bering  Sea,  where  they  arrive  in  June.  The 
adult  males  spend  the  winter  in  the  Gulf  of  Alaska,  on 
the  Fairweather  grounds,  and  return  earlier  to  the 
islands. 

THE   SEAL   FUR   INDUSTRY. 

Owing  to  the  polygamous  habits  of  the  fur  seals  the 
greater  part  of  the  males  born  are  superfluous.     The 


Appendix.  75 

principle  of  killing  therefore,  as  worked  out  by  the 
Russians  and  followed  by  our  Government  in  its  man 
agement  of  the  fur  industry,  is  to  confine  the  kill 
ing  to  the  young  males  of  three  years  of  age.  These 
younger  males  herd  by  themselves  (p.  54)  at  a  distance 
from  the  breeding  grounds.  The  Aleuts  surround  them 
while  asleep  at  night  and  drive  them  up  (p.  55)  in  great 
droves  to  "Asascardano"  (p. 57),  to  be  killed  and 
skinned.  The  pelts,  cured  in  salt,  are  shipped  to  San 
Francisco  and  thence  to  London  to  be  dressed  and  dyed. 
From  London  they  are  distributed  to  furriers  the 
world  over  to  be  made  into  garments. 

The  Russian  government  managed  its  fur  seal  indus 
try  through  a  corporation  to  which  exclusive  privileges 
were  granted.  When  the  fur  seal  islands,  together  with 
the  territory  of  Alaska,  came  in  1867  into  the  control  of 
the  United  States  by  treaty  with  Russia,  our  Govern 
ment  at  once  leased  the  industry  to  a  commercial  com 
pany,  reserving  to  itself  a  royalty  or  tax  on  each  skin 
taken.  For  twenty  years  one  hundred  thousand  skins 
were  taken  annually  and  the  tax,  together  with  import 
duties  on  dressed  skins  brought  back  for  consumption 
in  the  L^nited  States,  yielded  a  revenue  to  our  Govern 
ment  of  about  thirteen  and  one-half  millions  of  dollars. 
The  cost  of  the  entire  territory  of  Alaska  was  only 
seven  million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

About  the  year  1886  the  fur  seal  herd  was  found  to 
be  decreasing.  In  1890  it  was  little  more  than  one-half 
its  normal  size  and  the  quota  of  skins  fell  to  twenty 
thousand.  Since  that  time  the  herd  has  steadily  declin 
ed.  There  was  in  1880  doubtless  two  millions  and  a 


76  Appendix. 

half  of  animals  of  all  classes.  In  1896  there  were  about 
400,000  animals.  By  1909,  this  number  has  diminished 
to  160,000. 

PELAGIC  SEALING 

The  decline  of  the  herd  was  due  to  the  development 
of  a  rival  sealing  industry  at  sea  (pp.  66  and  67).  This 
had  been  carried  on  from  the  earliest  times  by  the  In 
dians  of  Cape  Flattery  and  Vancouver  Island.    These 
Indians  went  out  in  their  open  canoes  a  day's  journey 
and  hunted  with  the  spear  stragglers  from  the  herd  as 
it  passed  northward  on  the  spring  migration.     White 
man's  ingenuity  soon  found  a  way  to  increase  this  ir 
regular  supply  of  sealskins.    Schooners   (p.  66)   were 
employed  to  carry  the  Indians  and  their  canoes  out  to 
the  main  body  of  the  herd,  to  move  with  them  day  by 
day  and  to  provide  a  refuge  for  them  at  night  and  in 
times  of  storm.    The  plan  was  marvelously  successful. 
From  two  or  three  vessels   in   1879  the  fleet  of  the 
"Pirate  Kings"  grew  to  a  maximum  of  122  in  1892, 
each  vessel  carrying  from  five  to  twenty  canoes  and 
hunting  crews.    The  field  of  its  operations  gradually 
extended  over  the  whole  migration  route  of  the  anim 
als.    The  catch  of  skins  rose  from  a  few  thousand  a 
year  to  a  maximum  of  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand. 
The  effect  of  land  killing  had  been  to  keep  the  males 
at  a  low  point.  The  killing  at  sea,  necessarily  indiscrim 
inate,  fell  most  heavily  upon  the  females.   The  investi 
gations  of  the  Commission  of  1896  proved  that  fully 
three-fourths   of   the   animals   taken   at   sea   were   of 
this  class.  With  the  mother  seal,  killed  in  the  spring  off 


Appendix.  77 

the  Northwest  Coast  her  unborn  offspring  died ;  in  Ber 
ing  Sea  her  death  involved  that  of  her  dependent  off 
spring  on  the  rookeries  by  starvation.  By  actual  count 
in  the  autumn  of  1896  at  least  sixteen  thousand  youn°- 

J  & 

seals  were  found  to  have  suffered  the  fate  of  little 
"Lakutha"  (p.  64).  It  was  to  emphasize  these  facts 
that  the  story  of  Matka  was  written. 

Since  1897  pelagic  sealing  has  become  more  destruc 
tive  even  than  it  was  in  Matka's  day.  Then,  it  was 
chiefly  a  Canadian  industry  carried  on  many  miles  out 
at  sea;  but  in  1903  the  Japanese  took  up  the  hunting 
of  the  fur  seals,  using  shotguns,  and  coming  close  to 
the  rookery  shores.  Not  being  bound  by  the  agreement 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  by  which 
there  was  established  a  closed  season  of  three  months 
and  a  protected  zone  of  sixty  miles  radius  about  the 
islands,  the  Japanese  hunters,  from  their  closer  vantage 
ground  on  the  three-mile  limit,  harrass  the  mother  seals 
throughout  the  entire  summer.  Between  the  seasons  of 
1896  and  1909,  the  pelagic  fleets  of  Canada  and  Japan 
have  taken  an  aggregate  of  285,000  animals,  two-thirds 
being  females. 

THE   FUR   SEAL   QUESTION. 

The  effect  of  pelagic  sealing  was  foreseen  from  the 
first  though  not  fully  understood.  While  it  was  confined 
to  the  open  waters  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  no  action  seem 
ed  possible.  But  when  the  pelagic  fleet  entered  Bering 
Sea,  in  1886,  and  attacked  the  herd  on  its  summer 
feeding  grounds,  the  United  States  sent  revenue  cut 
ters  to  warn  the  schooners  out  of  Bering  Sea  and  to 


78  Appendix. 

seize  and  confiscate  those  persisting  in  taking  seals. 
This  action  was  based  upon  the  right  claimed  by  Russia 
in  1821  to  seize  and  confiscate  vessels  caught  killing 
seals  in  the  waters  of  Bering  Sea.  Among  the  vessels 
seized  by  United  States  officers  in  1887  (p.  66)  were 
Canadian  vessels.  A  diplomatic  discussion  with  Great 
Britain  followed  which  finally  resulted  in  a  Treaty  of 
Arbitration,  agreed  upon  in  February,  1892,  by  which 
the  question  of  jurisdiction  is  Bering  Sea,  claimed  by 
the  United  States  in  the  interests  of  her  fur  seal  herd, 
was  left  to  a  court  of  arbitration  for  decision. 

This  Arbitration  Tribunal  met  in  Paris  in  the  spring 
of  1893,  reaching  its  decision  in  August  of  that  year. 
The  decision  was  adverse  to  the  contention  of  the  Uni 
ted  States  and,  in  accordance  with  the  stipulations  of 
the  treaty  covering  this  event,  the  Tribunal  formulated 
a  set  of  regulations  governing  pelagic  sealing  by  which 
the  two  governments  might  jointly  accomplish  "the 
protection  and  preservation"  of  the  fur  seal  herd  when 
on  the  high  seas. 

These  regulations  followed  the  analogy  of  our  com 
mon  game  laws.  A  close  season  in  May,  June,  and  July 
was  established  during  which  the  mother  seal  might 
bring  forth  her  young  unmolested.  This  was  supple 
mented  by  a  protected  zone  of  sixty  miles  radius  about 
the  islands  in  which  she  might  feed  in  safety  when 
pelagic  sealing  was  resumed  in  August  and  September. 

These  regulations  failed  utterly  of  their  purpose  be 
cause  the  mother  seals  feed  not  within  the  protected 
area  but  far  beyond  it  Hence  they  were  slaughtered 
without  mercy  in  August  and  September  and  their 


Appendix.  79 

helpless  young  died  of  starvation  on  the  rookeries.  The 
result  was  most  disastrous  and  the  season  of  1894,  the 
first  under  the  regulations,  saw  the  largest  catch  in  the 
history  of  pelagic  sealing  and  was  consequently  the 
most  destructive  to  the  herd. 

The  failure  of  the  regulations  was  at  once  apparent 
and  our  Government  made  efforts  to  secure  their  imme 
diate  reconsideration.  To  this  Great  Britain,  standing 
for  the  interest  of  the  pelagic  sealers,  would  not  con 
sent,  at  least  till  the  expiration  of  the  five-year  trial 
period.  In  preparation  for  such  reconsideration  the 
two  nations  agreed  in  1896  to  submit  the  whole  ques 
tion  of  seal  life  to  a  new  investigation.  The  investiga 
tions  for  the  United  States  were  under  the  direction  of 
President  Jordan  of  Stanford  University,  with  associ 
ates  from  the  scientific  bureaus  at  Washington.  Pro 
fessor  Thompson  of  Dundee,  Scotland,  with  a  number 
of  associates,  represented  Great  Britain. 

At  the  close  of  the  investigations  in  November,  1897, 
the  two  commissions,  known  as  the  Conference  of  Fur 
Seal  Experts,  came  together  in  Washington  and  after 
•a  discussion  of  the  results  of  their  labors  reached  a  sub 
stantial  agreement  as  to  the  facts  in  the  case.  These 
facts  had  prior  to  this  time  been,  for  the  most  part,  in 
dispute.  By  the  joint  agreement  pelagic  sealing  was 
designated  as  the  cause  of  the  decline  of  the  herd,  and 
it  was  further  shown  that  pelagic  sealing  in  any  form 
was  incompatible  with  the  protection  and  preservation 
of  the  herd. 

Upon  the  basis  of  this  agreement  the  fur  seal  ques 
tion  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Joint  High  Commis- 


80  Appendix. 

sion  which  was  called  together  at  Quebec  in  Septem 
ber,  1898,  to  consider  and  act  upon  a  number  of  ques 
tions,  among  them  the  fur  seal  question,  at  issue  be 
tween  the  United  States  and  Canada.  This  Commis 
sion  failed  to  end  pelagic  sealing,  and  the  tragedy  of 
the  "Mist  Islands"  has  been  re-enacted  each  summer 
since.  Since  1903  the  Japanese  fleet  has  re-enforced 
the  Canadian  fleet.  In  the  thirteen  years  that  have 
elapsed,  two  hundred  thousand  mother  seals  have  been 
slaughtered  and  their  young  left  to  starve  on  the  rook 
eries  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George.  And  the  end  is  not 
yet.  To  provide  a  game  law  that  will  protect  the 
mother  seal  on  the  high  seas  requires  international 
action,  and  the  mills  of  the  diplomats,  like  those  of 
the  gods,  grind  slowly. 

Stanford  University, 
October  12,  1909. 


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school  use.  As  a  desk  book  for  teachers,  a  library  book  for 
pupils  and  parents,  and  as  a  reader  for  all  classes,  it  furnishes 
the  best  material  obtainable. 
Paper,  Parts  I  and  II,  each,  lOc.  Paper,  35c  net. 

Boards,  60c  net.  Price:     Cloth,  $1.00  net. 

THE    GOVERNMENT    OF    WYOMING. 

By  Grace  Raymond   Hebard. 

A  very  pithy  summary  of  the  History,  Constitution  and  Ad 
ministration  of  affairs  in  the  State  of  Wyoming.  The  text  is 
most  carefully  prepared  and  systematized.  This,  together  with 
the  various  questions  and  outlines,  renders  it  a  most  valuable 
book  for  either  the  class  room  or  the  general  reader. 
Price,  $1.00  net. 


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